Aregbesola’s payment of full July salary deceit to secure votes ― AGA gov candidate

THE standard bearer of the All Grassroots Alliance (AGA) in the forthcoming September 22 governorship poll in Osun, Hon Femi Kehinde, on Sunday said the payment of full salary for the month of July to the civil servants by Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration was a tactical deceit to secure votes of the workers during the election.

He advised public workers in the state not to be carried away by what he termed as a grand plot to hoodwink them into getting their votes ahead of the gubernatorial election.

It would be recalled that the state government had last week commenced the payment of full salary for the month of July to all categories of workers, including civil servants in local government councils.

But, reacting over the development during an interview with Tribune Online, Kehinde contended that the “the full payment of July salary to workers is an expired style of Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration. They did it in 2014 to deceive the people, saying that “governance should not be by deceit, but by reality.”

According to the AGA governorship candidate, “for a government that had not paid full salary in the past 37 months is now paying July salary just because the election is around the corner is very unfortunate. It is an attempt to hoodwink the workers to vote for their party and after the election, they go back to their old self”.

Kehinde continued, “as at today, Osun State government is in humongous debt with about 80% of its monthly earning going for debt payment, leaving a paltry 20% to service the administration in the payment of salary. Where did they now suddenly find the fund to pay full salary for July. They have mismanaged the economy to the level that to pay full salary is almost unrealisable because of what they pay to service the debt.”

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“Let us go beyond election rhetorics and deceit and let’s look at a way to alleviate the poverty level which the current administration had inflicted on the people of Osun. The multiplier effects of the payment of full salary go beyond the civil service because that is the money that would circulate round the economy to the traders, barbers, tailors, carpenters and artisans in general.

“I don’t know why Osun should find herself in this parlous state. I want to state that the government of All Grassroots Alliance (AGA) will put a smile on the faces of our people. Payment of regular salary to the workforce would be part of a new dawn that would be heralded.”

“Payment of regular salary have a very serious effect on education in terms of teachers’ performance. When teachers are not motivated, how would they teach effectively, when doctors are not motivated, how would they render good medical service?

Medical doctors were being paid 30 per cent of their salary and the government takes 100 per cent taxation from that 30 per cent salary,” Kehinde remarked.