Ogun appeals to teachers to end industrial action

 PDP criticizes Amosun over strike

OGUN State government has appealed to the striking Teachers in the state to call off their industrial action and support the progressive government of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to move the state forward.   

      The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Basorun Muyiwa Oladipo, who pleaded with the teachers, while fielding questions from Journalists at the governor’s office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta said government is taking necessary steps at meeting some of their demands, in a bid to end the impasse and avert unnecessary academic wastage of the children. 

     But the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised Amosun over the spate of strikes in the state blaming it on the “ineptitudeness of the Amosun administration”.

     A statement by the State PDP Chairman, Engr. Adebayo Dayo, said “how do we explain a situation where teachers, health and judicial workers are on strike at the same time? By Wednesday, the local government workers will commence their industrial action.

     “These are indications that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Amosun government has failed the people. How can one explain the refusal of the state government to remit the money deducted from the sweat of teachers as cooperative and pension trust funds?”

    Oladipo while defending the state government on the strike said teachers usually take the large chunk of the allocation accrued to the state, saying government has always made it a priority to meet their demands. 

  He however pointed out that for the past 15 months, allocations from the Federal Government has dwindled seriously, which has affected the state from meeting some of its statutory obligations. 

    He explained that teachers were not being owned any salary, “they receive their salaries as at when due, but only for the deductions, which the state could not meet up with adequately due to the dwindling allocations from Abuja.”

    He stressed that the challenge was compounded by Federal Government’s banning of states from obtaining loan from banks without taken express permission from the Minister of Finance.                                          

   The commissioner said in spite of the financial challenges the state is battling with, it has continue to pay salaries of its workforce regularly, saying the government is not resting on its oars in its determination to meet its obligations across the state as it has began effort to further increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), so as not to depend too much on Federal allocation.                                              

    He urged the teachers to see the efforts of the present administration in Urban renewal, provision of free and qualitative education, effective security provision, and efficient health delivery, provision of basic infrastructural amenities across the state, among others as part of re-building mission of the administration to reposition the state.  

    Oladipo called on all workers to show more level of understanding in supporting the efforts of government, which has shown good leadership across board.                                

    While emphasising that the present administration was hundred percent workers friendly, Oladipo said the present administration met 20 months arrears of deductions, pension, gratuities among others as liability by the immediate past administration and that the governor managed to pay all in a bid to promote better welfare for the state workforce.

     Oladipo challenged the Union bodies to cry out about some reported financial mismanagement at the Federal level, which he claimed was seriously affecting the state allocation. 

       He said “ we have been told that about 400,000 barrels of crude oil are being stolen every day in Nigeria. If you multiply that you should know how much that would amount to. And in few months ago, some governors came together to say that 50billion US Dollars are missing in the coffers, if you translate 50 billion US Dollars into Naira and share it among states you know how much that is and all these poor financial cries about allocation will reduce.”