The immediate past Governor of Osun State, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola has described as outlandish and preposterous the claim by the new administration of Senator Ademola Adeleke that his predecessor (Oyetola) left a salary arrears and pensions to the tune of over N75 billion.
In a statement Thursday by the former Governor’s media aide, Ismail Omipidan, he stated that for four years, Oyetola’s administration did not owe a dime in payment of salaries, while they made conscious efforts to reduce the backlog of pensions and gratuities inherited from previous administrations.
The statement reads: “The claim by the Government of Osun State that the Adegboyega Oyetola’s administration owed salary arrears and pensions to the tune of over N75 billion is not only outlandish but preposterous.
“Our suspicion is that they have gone to dig up the arrears owed by their partner and collaborator, the settlement of which they used to hoodwink some workers ahead of July 16 governorship contest.
“For the umpteempth time, let me place it on record that for four years, we did not owe a dime in payment of salaries, while we made conscious efforts to reduce the backlog of pensions and gratuities we inherited. This also explains why for four years we did not witness any industrial dispute. By their figure, what it means is that we owed salaries for close to one year. Is that possible? The Labour Union can also bear testimony to the fact that we never left any salary unpaid in our time, just as we did not take any bank loan for four years.
“The new Governor and his team want to ride on a populism mantra. Unfortunately, they do not understand the concept and philosophy of populism. That’s why they have resorted to blackmail.
“On the day of inauguration, the Governor said it would take time for him to pay salaries because he needed to freeze government account to enable him to look at the books. Today, he is saying he frowns at delay in payment of salary. And for November salary, we actually signed off since November 20th. I am sure we are in for more drama.”