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Oyo appeals to Federal Governent over disbursement of Paris Club funds

By Iyabo Lawal, (Ibadan)
05 January 2017   |   2:33 am
Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State is appealing to the Federal Government to release its own share of the Paris Club funds saying Oyo was one of the six states excluded.
Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State

Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State is appealing to the Federal Government to release its own share of the Paris Club funds saying Oyo was one of the six states excluded.

Ajimobi assured the workers and the citizenry that the money when released would be used to clear all the outstanding salary arrears, pensions and other entitlements.

The governor while while addressing workers at the 2017 annual inter-religious service yesterday, to herald a new working year said the Federal Government erroneously assumed that the state had received its own share of the fund in 2008.

While urging workers to remain committed, Ajimobi assured that at least 50 percent of the money when received would be used to settle backlog of salary arrears, pensions and other entitlements as done during the bailout fund.

Ajimobi appealed to labour leaders to be more proactive, engaging and innovative instead of being confrontational.

The governor then appealed to the people, corporate bodies, groups and workers to continue in their unflinching support for the government.

He said three reasons propelled the government to organize the yearly ritual: to thank God for the opportunity of seeing another year; to talk to ourselves so that we can encourage ourselves and for interaction.

He said: “We are looking for ways of reducing our cost and every attempt to do so is a denial of a certain quarter of people. Indeed the execution of capital projects is increasingly difficult due to the dwindling oil revenue and activities of the pipeline vandals.

“We must look for ways of sourcing for money, poor internally generated revenue is also another major problem. N1.5 billion IGR is too small with what we get from the monthly allocation.

“What we are saying is that there is need to look at ways of making money, government cannot function without money. So government as an enterprise requires sufficient funds to be efficient in service delivery. Let me reiterate at this juncture that civil service is the engine room of every government.’’

In their sermons, clerics from both the Islamic and Christian faiths enjoined workers to be faithful and do their best to take the state to an enviable height.

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