Osun NUT insists Aregbesola owes teachers 28 months salary arrears

THE Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Osun chapter on Friday insisted that Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s  administration is owing teachers in the state 28 months salary arrears, saying the position of the Statistician-General of the state, Professor Wasiu Gbolagade that teachers were not being owed was false and misleading.

Reacting to the claims of Gbolagade, the state chairman of NUT, Comrade Amudah Wakeel, said contrary to the statement, the arrears owed was the modutaled salaries for 28 months which amounted to 14 months full salary.

He maintained that; “government owed teachers in the state an outstanding of the “modulated salaries” for 28 months which will amount to 14 months of full salary.”

Wakeel further clarified that all the teachers on levels eight and above were placed on modulated salaries, a payment arrangement where workers in the state, including the teachers, from levels eight to ten are paid 75 per cent of their salaries and those on levels ten and above are paid 50 per cent of their salaries.

According to him, “in 2015, government paid full salaries up to June, while arrears of July to August was paid last year, 2017, but the balance of the remaining half salaries of four months from 2015 are yet to be paid. In year 2016 half salary was paid from January to December indicating that 12 months arrears of half salaries remained to be paid.”

“In 2017, half salary was paid from January to November, meaning that, 11 half salaries were yet to be paid because full salary was paid in December. On the whole, 27 months arrears of half salary were yet to be paid,” he remarked.

Wakeel, however, urged the state government to pay the outstanding of the modulated salaries with immediate effect since it has promised to do so.

It would be recalled that the Osun Statistician-General on Wednesday issued  a statement debunking media reports credited to NUT President, Mr Alogba Olukoya, that Osun topped the list of states owing teachers salaries in the country.