Osun workers unpaid salaries dangerous -Expert

A security expert, Mr. Lekan Jackson-Ojo, has said the failure of Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to pay workers for the last five months could trigger insecurity and other forms of crimes in the state. 

 

Jackson-Ojo said this in an interview with our correspondent in Osogbo on Friday.

He said it was criminal to leave workers’ salaries unpaid while the governor was funding campaigns of his party’s candidates. 

Workers under the aegis of the Trade Union Congress, led by their chairman, Mr. Olatunji Akinyemi, had staged a protest against alleged unpaid five months salaries on Tuesday. 

Jackson-Ojo stated that workers would be encouraged to engage in corrupt practices while traders and artisans might be lured into crimes if they did not enjoy patronage from civil servants who had not been paid.  

He said, “Governor who has not been able to pay workers five months is busy funding the campaign of candidates of his party who have failed in their first term. 

“Aregbesola should pay workers. It is their rights to be paid. He should not allow them to be protesting before paying them. It is unfair. 

“A governor who refuses to pay workers is encouraging  criminality and insecurity because poverty will lead to tension and insecurity.”

The security expert also said the people of Ijesa North Constituency were the worst hit because while the governor had refused to carry out any project in the area, the lawmaker representing the area at the House of Representatives, Nathaniel Agunbiade, had also done nothing but diverted the constituency projects and allowance meant for the area to the state government’s purse. 

 

According to him, the lawmaker said all members of the National Assembly from the state donated their  constituency project allowance to the state government to carry out some projects but he said Ijesa North Constituency had not benefited anything from the governor and the lawmaker.

The governor had since  appealed to the workers to be calm, while promising that their salaries would be paid very soon. 

The media aide to the governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said this in a statement made available to our correspondent. 

The governor blamed the economic crisis in the country for the irregular payment of workers but said that he would address the issue very soon.