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Osun: Another ridiculous and treacherous incitement – By Funke Egbemode
Yet another ultimatum has been issued by disgruntled and attention seeking political vagrants. These purveyors of discord have issued a statement giving the governor of the state of Osun 7 days within which to review salaries of civil servants upward . Does this mean that they have not been paying attention to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s administration’s priorities and accomplishments over the last two years? Given the achievements of the Oyetola administration and the priority the governor has placed on improving the pay and conditions of Osun’s civil servants, it is obvious that the sponsors of these statements either do not live on planet earth or, have finally run out of ideas.
Their current ridiculous and baseless statement has followed similar patterns of previous attempts by these elements to incite citizens against the government on the one hand, and distract the government on the other.
The State of Osun has over 40,000 active workers and 22,000 retirees, and Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has never failed to pay full salaries to workers every month since the inception of his administration. He has also consistently paid pension arrears of retired officers of the Osun Civil Service.
That notwithstanding, without any agitation, demonstration or strike action by workers, and without any ultimatum from the Osun State Chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Governor Oyetola approved the immediate implementation of welfare packages for all categories of workers in the State, as well as the immediate implementation of Minimum Wage, lifting of ban on Annual Salary Increment and embargo placed on promotions and conversions since 2012. He followed this up with the release of N 1.2 billion to also offset pension arrears. All these happened in less than a week.
This makes one begin to wonder:
– If in spite of the COVID-19 devastation and the recent bandwagon of destruction in the State, both of which took their tolls on the economy of the State; Governor Oyetola gave priority to the welfare of workers, what more are these band of anti-government elements asking for?
– Who asks for wage increment twice in a less than a week?
– Where were these misguided activists when the Osun State Chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trades Union Congress gave the verdict that workers’ welfare is no longer privilege-based, but right-based under the Oyetola-led government?
– Yesterday, it was Okada riders. Today, it’s the workers of the State Civil Service. Who knows the next citizens group that these clueless activists are planning to incite against the government?
Are these trouble makers aware that since taking office, the Oyetola administration has had to contend with dwindling financial resources to meet increasing needs at a time when rising prices caused by inflation reduced buying power and an economic recession shrank the national economy including Osun’s? Osun’s indebtedness meant that more of its meagre resources would have to be devoted to servicing these loans. Yet through these very difficult economic and financial headwinds, the Oyetola administration was able as a priority to ensure that salaries of public servants were paid on time.
As part of Oyetola’s commitment to ensuring the people of Osun are served by the dedicated men and women who work for them, he did the following within just one week:
1. Approved immediate implementation of welfare packages
2. Lifted the ban annual salary increment and embargo placed on promotions
3. Approved the implementation of the minimum wage
4. Released N1.2 billion to offset pension arears
Oyetola’s administration has made service delivery a feature of its stewardship of the state of Osun. And this means that the 40,000 active public sector workers and 22,000 retirees receive their remuneration and emoluments as and when due.
It is therefore unbelievable that anyone would feign ignorance of all of the above to give the Oyetola administration a 7-day ultimatum to review salaries upward. As we stated above, it remains to be seen whether in light of the above and without reference to the Nigeria Labour Congress State of Osun chapter, any one who is not unmoored from reality will issue such a laughable ultimatum. One can only surmise that this ultimatum was issued solely for mischievious and mendacious purposes to sow discord and division in Osun. Its apparent singular intent is to incite the people and the dedicated public service officers against the governor and his administration.
The State Of Osun and the administration of Governor Oyetola are battling serious economic, social and public health headwinds. We welcome constructive criticism that can help us deliver more to the people of Osun. We look forward to hearing from our public servants how we can implement policies that will enable them to deliver quality services to the people of Osun. This clumsy attempt at cheap blackmail is absolutely unnecessary, gratuitiously cruel, inept and destined to fail.
The government hereby implores the good people of Osun to rise and resist these trouble makers who are fighting tooth and nail to distract this government, which remains focused and unperturbed.
Law enforcement agents have been fully briefed not to allow breakdown of law and order in the State due to the indiscretion of these elements.
The State Government of Osun remains committed to ensuring the safety of the lives and properties.
Funke Egbemode is the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Osun State, Senator Felix Ogunwale has said the Nigerian presidency should lead the way for others to follow in cutting down cost of governance.
Senator Ogunwale spoke on Wednesday in Osogbo while fielding question from a panel at a programme, The Frontliners’ organised by the Osun State Chapter of Association of Veteran Journalists, AVJ.
He said the right thing to be done was for the president of the country to show commitment to changing the narrative by not only asking Nigerians to endure the current hardship but to demonstrate the willingness to also make all arms of government to also feel the impact in their budget.
“I have always said it that we are note being driven by ideas in Nigeria but money. You can’t be asking those in the National Assembly to reduce their pay now when in actual sense the reason for some of them being their is to amaze wealth.
“Do you know what to correct this, it’s if our president, I am not referring to the current president, it’s the day our president decide to be riding bicycle to his office, the day the balance in his account is not more than 10 million, the day our president refuses to take more aides than it’s necessary, the day our president doesn’t believe in amazing wealth.”
The chairman of the event, Dr. Muyiwa Oladimeji who also shared the views of the guest urged the people of the State to continue to support the Administration of Senator Ademola Adeleke to be able to achieve his dream of developing all sectors of the State.
He commeded the AVJ for championing such efforts geared towards charting a way forward on how to achieve all round growth and development of the society and the nation at large.
Earlier, the chairman, AVJ, Adepoju Atobatele had described the programme as another opportunity to get Nigerians engaged on salient issues of national and global dimensions on the Front Liners.
Atobatele said, the association considered it a duty as professionals in the pen fraternity, to deepen democracy by constantly provoking Intellectual disputes that would widen public horizon of issues that are germane to the wellbeing, progress, security as well galvanizing interest in the affairs of the Country.
He said “The FRONTLINERS has been very active in widening discussions and analytical assessments of issues, events and personalities involved in determining the socio-economic and political directions of our dear Country, Nigeria.
“These we are carrying out successfully with the resources available to us in different ways, through the instrumentality of the Media.
“Ours as a professional body of retired media practitioners, still active in the concept of information management, has thus taken it as a sacred duty to act as change agents in a society yearning for objective information dissemination.”
…as Nigeria sets to sign MoU with Saudi Arabia
The minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Tuesday, continued bilateral discussions with ministers and representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Brazil and Jamaica, expressing Nigeria’s government interest in learning from their knowledge and experiences.
This was revealed through his media aide, Ismail Omipidan, in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.
Recall that Oyetola, on Monday, held bilateral meetings with representatives of Greece, Qatar, and Mexico, on the sidelines of the ongoing 33rd General Assembly session of the International Maritime Organization, IMO, in London, United Kingdom.
During his meeting with the Brazilian Chief of the Navy’s General Staff, Adm José Augusto V. da Cunha de Menezes, the minister said Nigeria would want to learn from the operations of the Brazilian coast guards, as the ministry was desirous of setting up one so as to further secure the maritime space and the country’s waterways.
Oyetola further noted that: “We want to also focus on sectors such as Marine Renewable Energy, Marine Mining, Subsea Cabling and Piping, Marine Genetics, and Biotechnology, so as to grow the marine and blue economy.
“As we continue to expand and develop the activities of the sector, there will be need to deepen security architecture within the maritime space. In this regard, we are considering setting up Coast Guards and we believe that they will complement the existing security architecture to further secure our maritime space.”
The minister while expressing Nigeria’s desire to tap into technology to revolutionalise the maritime sector, further said “technology and innovation are vital for boosting Nigeria’s trade and investment prospects within the Marine and Blue Economy. Advanced marine technologies, including innovations in maritime logistics and smart logistics solutions, will significantly enhance the efficiency and sustainability of maritime transport and port operations, making Nigerian ports more competitive globally.”
Oyetola also met the newly elected Vice President of IMO, who is the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK, Saida Muna Tasneem and Saudi Arabia’s Saleh bin Nasser AIJasser, who is the minister in charge of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services of Saudi Arabia, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Both Saudi Arabia and Nigeria during the meeting agreed to sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cement their corporations, collaboration and partnership in the maritime space.
The Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke on Rural Water and Environmental Sanitation Agency RUWESA, Chief Lanre Odelade has described the one year Administration of Governor Adeleke as pace setting.
Speaking with newsmen today,the Special Adviser says, the tactful method of Intervention in critical areas of the state’s economy and social welfare has given out the Administration as commited to the welfare and advancement of their living conditions.
Chief Odelade particularly lauded the state government for it’s quick response to correcting the infrastructural deficit,impaired health care delivery,and neglect of public sector workers,all of which were inherited from the previous ApC Governments.
The Special Adviser particularly noted the swift response of Government to water Provision which led to the sinking of solar and generator powered bore holes to the 332 wards in the state.
Chief Odelade is optimistic that Governor Ademola Adeleke will consolidate on the gains of the past one year with renewed focus on taking the local government Administration from the duldrums to the centre stage of development and self reliance in accordance with the five point agenda of the state government.
He called on the people to give maximum support to Governor Ademola Adeleke in his determined efforts to take Osun state to the promised land.
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