By Ola Ajayi
IBADAN – GOVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said his predecessor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, in an attempt to empty the state treasury, hurriedly withdrew a sum of N3billion just five days before he left office.
He revealed this during a meeting with some traditional rulers in the state over one of the booby traps of implementing the payment of N18,000 for the workers in the state.
In order to prevent another round of industrial action in the state, Governor Ajimobi sought the intervention and elderly counsel of major traditional rulers in the state.
Gov Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala
But responding, Prince Dotun Oyelade denied the allegation saying “Akala’s administration did not withdraw N3b as alleged by the new administration in the state. What happened was that money was paid to contractors upon the presentation of certificates for job done and certified by the monitoring unit, the State Ministry of Works and the Due Process unit”.
He said.”this is the conventional way of paying for projects executed. The onus is therefore on Ajimobi to prove that the money was wrongly applied or prematurely released.
Among the traditional rulers invited to the meeting are the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana; Soun of Ogbomosho, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi.
Though, the Olubadan could not attend in person, he delegated the Otun Olubadan, High Chief Omowale Kuye to stand in for him at the meeting.
The former Governor of the state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala had, at the twilight of his four-year tenure, raised the hope workers in the state that he would effect the implementation of the minimum wage of N18,000 monthly.
Ajimobi, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant, Dr. Festus Adedayo, expressed worry over the issue especially when the new wage bill exceeds the total monthly revenue of the state.
In an earlier meeting, the governor held with labour leaders in the state, he explained to them that “while statutory allocation accruing to the state was, on the average, N2.4 billion monthly, the state’s Internally Generated Revenue nets about N1 billion, which, if added to VAT and other revenues accruable to the state government, pushes the state’s monthly income to about N4.2 billion on the average”.
The governor further told the leaders that, with the hurriedly approved new minimum wage increase by the out-gone state government, the state would pay monthly salaries of N4.4 billion which meant that the state government would have to borrow the sum of N200 million monthly to be able to pay the salaries of its workers.
He said further that even after borrowing N200 million monthly to pay workers’ salaries, government would not only find it impossible to provide the needed materials for civil servants to do their work such as pens and typing sheets.
He also added that it would be an impossibility to actualize all the lofty dreams which he swore to provide for the people of the state.
The governor, reportedly told the traditional rulers and other leaders that he was anxious to pay the May salary of workers immediately and pay whatever would be agreed upon with labour after appropriation by the House of Assembly.
He admitted that workers in Oyo State were among the worst-paid salary-earners in the South West adding that “If the Ekiti State salary model is adopted, the new salary will increase workers’ wages by between 45 and 100 percent, push up the wage bill by N800million per month and push the wage bill to N3.7billion,”.
According to the statement, Governor Ajimobi presented all these facts to the labour leaders and informed the traditional rulers, religious leaders and leaders of thought that his administration would continue to dialogue with the labour leaders towards arriving at an acceptable point where civil servants and the people he swore to provide their welfare will all beam smiles of satisfaction.
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