Oyo govt reiterates commitment to clearing outstanding salaries

Oyo State government, on Thursday, stated that it is putting machinery in place to offset outstanding salaries and further ensure prompt payment of workers thereafter.

The state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun, made this known in a statement in Ibadan, adding that the government is concerned with the economic situation in the society.

According to him, Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration is resolute in making life easier and meaningful for the entire citizenry by meeting its obligations promptly and meets regularly with leadership of the workers’ unions in order to keep them abreast of the finances of the state.

“At one of our meetings with the labour leaders, the government was commended and appreciated for its efforts at adhering to the terms reached during the last agreement despite the financial challenges. They (labour leaders) emphasised that payment before the last Eid celebration was a good gesture.

“Our government is very passionate about the welfare of workers and the people of the state in general.  We are not comfortable with the situation of things in the state and we are already putting machineries in motion to resolve the non-payment of salaries.

“We know there is a lull in the economy but the situation is changing gradually and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) drive is yielding positive results. Without adequate resources for prompt payment of salaries, developmental projects will naturally suffer.”

“We empathise with our people, we feel the pains too. Let our people be reminded that before now, we paid as and when due. We paid 13th month salary and we increased housing and car loans by a hundred per cent. Pensioners got 142 per cent increase with backlogs paid among many other welfare schemes by Governor Ajimobi-led administration,” Arulogun explained.

Arulogun assured that the government would continue with its people-oriented programmes to ensure that citizens reap the dividends of democracy.