The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Oyo State has said that the recent protest by the retired primary school teachers in Oyo State over accumulated arrears of pensions and gratuities has exposed the alleged deceits and lies by the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi on the touted robust relationship between his government and the workers in the state.
The gubernatorial candidate of SDP in the state, Seyi Makinde, while reacting to the protest which paralysed movement of human and vehicular traffic at the Agodi Gate while it lasted, said it was strange to hear and see the senior citizens protesting against the government that usually claimed to have done everything for the people of the state, particularly, the workers and pensioners inclusive.
The retired primary school teachers had taken to the streets in Ibadan in protest against the non- payment of their pensions and gratuities, totaling about N17billion for the 7,000 members. Makinde, who spoke through Kehinde Ayoola, director-general of his campaign organisation, remarked that the excuse later advanced by the government that the over six billion Naira allegedly embezzled by some government officials in the previous administration was responsible for the huge debt was not tenable enough because that amount was still a far cry from the acclaimed N17 billion owed the distraught pensioners. “Again, why did it take the pensioners’ protest before the governor could come out to let the people know that the money embezzled was creating problem in meeting his obligation to the pensioners and why is the governor always claiming that his administration is not owing the workers when in actual fact he knows that the pensioners are not paid? “We appreciate the enormity of the responsibility the government is expected to shoulder and how difficult things may be in view of dwindling economy occasioned by fall in oil price, but, we take strong exception to government deceit and by calling white black for the people, a leader’s word should be his bond”, the SDP gubernatorial hopeful said.
Makinde, who had earlier pledged that his monthly salary as governor would be ploughed into teachers’ pension fund if elected to put paid to the suffering of the retired teachers, appealed to the pensioners to remain calm and believe that their salvation is around the corner by voting for SDP during the elections later this month and next month. Makinde assured that “as the governor of this state, I may not be right all the time as a human being, but, I assure the people of the state that I will be sincere and honest with them all the time as against the current experience”.
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