APC To Ekiti Labour: Arrest Of Officials Not Cause Of Salary Delay
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has faulted the claim by the state leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) that the arrest of the Commissioner for Finance, Toyin Ojo; and Accountant General, Yemisi Owolabi, is responsible for the delay in the payment of workers’ salaries.
Citing conspiratorial roles that Labour leaders, including those of TUC and NUT, have been playing to sabotage the interest of their members, the party berated them for choosing to be alleged moles used by Governor Ayodele Fayose to deny the workers their entitlements.
The State Chairman of TUC, Odunayo Adesoye, had in company of other Labour leaders last week told reporters that the bailout cash over which the officials were arrested was spent judiciously in line with the agreement the workers reached with Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Adesoye also argued that the arrest of the officials was unjustified, even as he lamented that keeping the officials in EFCC custody was causing delay in the payment of workers salary.
But responding in a statement in Ado-Ekiti by the Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party regretted that a labour union that is supposed to be the vanguard of solidarity for workers to enjoy full service benefits had become collaborators in the unjustified denial of workers of their benefits in support of the governor.
The party noted that this was not the first time TUC officials were working at cross purposes with its Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) counterpart in the fight for salary payment, arguing that the accusation of salary delay by the arrest of the officials by EFCC was one in the series of “conspiratorial collaborations” between a section of Labour to mislead the public.
“It is common knowledge that a section of the Labour movement has compromised their office in the protection of workers interest, but Fayose should not hide under the arrest of Commissioner for Finance, Toyin Ojo; and Accountant General, Yemisi Owolabi, for non-payment of salary.
“Ojo is not a signatory to any salary account as there are two other alternate signatories, who include Director, Funds Management.
“Ekiti people and workers in particular should also note that when the Accountant General was on leave for about three weeks recently, financial transactions of the state were going on unhindered.
“Therefore, contrary to TUC’s claim, there is no reason why the arrest of the two state officials should be an excuse for non-payment of salaries by the governor, which of course, he has not been paying anyway before their arrest.
“Fayose has received several billions of naira in form of bailout and Paris Club refund but has refused to pay workers salaries for five months salary, local government workers for eight months salary and pensioners 13 months allowance arrears, including refusal to pay severance package of former political office holders after funds for these purposes were captured in tranches of bailout and Paris Club refund,” Olatunbosun explained.
He also berated a group loyal to the governor in NUT known as PMC who last year allegedly led miscreants to pose as Labour leaders on state radio and television to attack fellow workers who were protesting unpaid salaries, and praising the governor for being workers’ friend even though the same workers and their families go to bed in empty stomachs.
He criticised Fayose for allegedly treating teachers like animals, saying that as they celebrated Teachers Day last week, what the governor could offer them in scorching sun were lies and pittance to them to forget their sorrows.
Olatunbosun also accused Fayose of inflating state wage bill to N2.6b from N1.9b and local government wage bill fromN1.9b to N2.4b, noting that even though the state had enough to pay workers, the governor in alleged collaboration with a section of the Labour leadership had refused to pay workers salary.
He added: “Fayose is very insensitive to the plight of workers whom he has impoverished with his anti-workers posture.
“Ojo and Owolab’s arrest is a confirmation of our earlier alert on how Fayose has been diverting funds meant for the payment of salaries and allowances to flyover and market projects awarded to his friends’ companies in which Fayose is alleged to have interest.
“Ekiti workers should be well informed that the arrest of the two state officials should not be an excuse for the non-payment of their salaries, contrary to the claim by the Labour leaders in TUC to malign EFCC in support of the governor in the diversion of Ekiti money to projects that will serve the governor’s interest.”
Regretting that TUC is becoming notorious for always coming to the governor’s aid in times of trouble, he said:
“It is not because of the arrest of the two officials that salary payment is delayed as claimed by Adesoye of TUC, but because of a deliberate denial of workers’ entitlements for personal benefit of the governor and endorsed by TUC leaders for reasons best known to them.
“Fayose knows where he is keeping Ekiti money, but it is regrettable that this is not the first time TUC leadership is supporting the governor to defend policies and actions by the governor that make the workers to suffer.
“The congress had allegedly sidelined the NLC in negotiating away workers’ interest in the suspension of the last workers’ strike over non-payment of salaries for six months.
“Reports at that time indicated that without NLC’s input, TUC allegedly traded off workers’ interest in a legitimate strike to demand for their salaries by announcing the suspension of the strike to the displeasure of workers who had hoped the strike option would force the governor to pay their salaries.
“All of us heard how the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led by Ayodele Adesanmi incurred the wrath of workers for the sudden suspension of the strike without workers’ input at a congress and the innocent man, who knew nothing about TUC’s cooperation with the governor, became an object of attack among workers for the offence he didn’t commit.”
Noting Adesoye’s condemnation of EFCC is a tacit endorsement of the governor in the misapplication of the state funds, Olatunbosun counselled TUC leadership to allow the spirit of comradeship among workers to govern their conducts instead of always supporting the actions of the governor that jeopardise the interest of workers.
