Embattled Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has no reason to remain in office if he cannot pay state workers and pensioners, frontline public affairs analyst, Mr. Jimi Disu, has said.
According to News Express, for two straight days (Friday and Thursday), Mr. Disu was full of anger as he commented on newspaper headlines while co-hosting the popular Classic FM Lagos breakfast programme, ‘FRONT PAGE NEWS & ANALYSIS’.
“An outraged Disu, a veteran journalist and PR expert, asked repeatedly: “Where has all the money gone? What happened to federal allocations? What happened to IGR (Internally Generated Revenue)?”
Berating Aregbesola, Disu thundered: “And the man is still there as if nothing happened! The man should have been impeached! He has no moral right to govern a state if he cannot pay salaries! The man should resign or be impeached! What of the chopper that he bought? He can move round the state without helicopter. Now that he cannot pay salaries, he should sell off some of these things and pay even if it is one month.”
Disu also lambasted the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying: “There is a conspiracy of silence. I am surprised that APC and their NEC (National Executive Committee) have not called Aregbesola and asked him what the problems are.”
News Express reports that tension is high in Osun, with workers (who are reportedly owed seven months’ salaries) and pensioners (owed for nine months) in war mood.
News Express.
This offers loss for words. So what happened to the state budget allocation for salaries? Who has been siphoning monies meant for state employees away into other expenditures? Is the state bankrupt? It may seem so since what should be the priority of the Finance department, Human Resources and various ministries or commissions now becomes non-existent.
It is not a plausible news to hear that Osun, of all states failed in its obligation to the people – the same people who rallied so much support that Aregbesola could return as governor; the same people who worked so hard to positively reconstruct the state to its current revival. Little wonder Ben Bruce had to offer his senator’s clothing allowance as a way out for the disadvantaged workforce – but how far can this go?
Osun state, and any other state with similar outrageous malpractice should have their leadership checked out for sanity, it’s either something is wrong with them or they are wrong in place. Impeachment is not too much asking in this regard. APC will eventually lose this state as things stand and unfortunately, it does not stop there as the country now postures incompetence through inaction, and external investment may dwindle against current persuasion for foreign investors to express interest. Added to this is the slight on the ruling party’s manifesto: eradication of poverty and corruption. Can anyone place blame on any civil servant caught in the taking of bribe, malingering at work in order to seek alternative source of financial survival. It is not unknown of teachers imposing sales of handouts on their students, just to get by for a day or two. Are we forgetting that these individuals have dependants, have to maintain the status quo, and fulfill ‘work-life-balance principles? One unintended implication is that statutory structures that fail to meet its monetary obligations to its workforce is as good as declared bankrupt. So, is Osun state (and any other states) bankrupt. If it is, then it’s a failed state, if it’s not then it’s a highly corrupt state because one of the primary responsibility of any employer is to ensure that its workforce receive their contractual reward in accordance to their terms of engagement.
A shame, indeed.