Workers’ Welfare: ‘Federal Govt Is Incorrect’ – Oyo Commissioner Takes On His Federal Counterpart

 

The Oyo State Government has taken exception to the sweeping generalization against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the Federal Government.

In a direct response to the statement credited to the Minister of Information and Orientation, Mohammed Idris, his Oyo state counterpart, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said that in specific and general terms the Minister was wrong.

The Minister had said in a statement earlier in Abuja that PDP governors have defaulted in the payment of “workers’ salaries, pension arrears” and “gratuities to their retired workers.”

The Minister was also quoted to have said that farmers are not being catered for in the States in reference.

But Oyelade said this statement is dead on arrival and flies in the face of verifiable facts from oyo state.

According to him, the Seyi Makinde administration is taking care of its workforce more than any other State in the federation.

The solidarity remarks of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Oyo State branch leadership aparts, the State pays its workers salaries every 25th of the month for the past 57 months, has been paying the 30,000 naira minimum wage from inception almost four years ago, including consistent payment of pensions and gratuities which by the way includes 13th month payment for both workers and pensioners alike and started paying the federal government induced wage award since September 2023 even when the FG is still defaulting.

On the false allegation that farmers are not treated well, this can only be put down to the inaccessibility of facts to the Honourable Minister.

The State’s strategic intervention in agro-allied road networks that has successfully linked all the seven zones in the State, the largest increase in land cultivation and production in the past four years, successful encouragement of viable foreign and local investors through the Agribusiness template at the resuscitated Fashola Industrial Estate among others are proof of government’s laudable intent.

And since the establishment of the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery, SAfER, by the State government to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, over one billion naira has been spent on soft loans for over 3,000 farmers including the distribution of farm inputs across the state.

The State government will therefore with due respect ask the Honourable Minister of Information and Orientation to rephrase his unhelpful generalization even as we should our deference to his office.