The Oyo State government has disclosed that it has paid two months’ salary arrears for workers in the state public and civil service.
The state commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun who disclosed this on Tuesday in Ibadan at the Annual Lecture /Award of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ministry of Information Chapel said that the government has been doing a lot of financial re-engineering in order to meet its obligations to the workforce and the entire citizens of the state.
The government spokesman said that the state government paid June and July 2016 to workers in the spirit of the season and restated the government commitment’s to workers’ welfare.
Arulogun revealed that the government is constantly seeking ways, means and solutions to offset the outstanding workers salaries and ensure prompt payment thereafter.
According to him, “the Senator Abiola Ajimobi administration is resolute in making life easier and meaningful for the workers and by extension the entire citizenry by meeting its obligations promptly. Also, the government is very passionate about the welfare of workers and the people of the state in general. We are not comfortable with the situation of things in the state as well and we are already putting machineries in motion to clear the outstanding salaries of the workforce.
“However, in the spirit of the season, the Governor has approved the payment of two months salaries to facilitate the joyful celebration of the yuletide season and usher in the new year. We are genuinely concerned about the welfare of the citizens and wish to use this opportunity to restate the Oyo State Government’s commitment to improving the life’s of our people. Ours is a government with a people centric focus which places a high premium on the contributions of its workforce,” the government spokesman explained.
Arulogun said that this puts to rest the insinuation in the past by the leadership of the workers union that the government was planning to reduce states workers’ salaries and the six month arrears by 50%.
He re-emphasized that the government would not renege on its decision to prioritize the citizens and workers’ welfare and consequently reiterated government’s commitment to the letters and spirit behind its agreement with Labour Unions stating that it has not and does not intend to renege on any of the terms in the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the payment of workers’ salaries.
Arulogun said, “Right now, it is obvious that the government has not reduced the salaries of the state’s workers except those of the political appointees, who were paid 50% of their May salaries as announced recently while the workers collected their full salaries. The June and July salaries are being paid in full too”.
The commissioner noted that the Oyo State Government has not received its share of the Paris Club over deduction funds and pledged that the government would continue to meet regularly with its stakeholders to keep them abreast of the finances and happenings in the state while exploring different scenarios that will provide solutions to the various challenges in the state.
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