“Not Yet Uhuru,” Osun Workers Should Brace Up For A Hard Time Under The New Governor-Elect

by Fatai Alimi
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Oyetola Gboyega

The Osun State Government’s fiscal receipts from the Federal Accounts and Allocation Committee ( FAAC) got depleted every month following appropriate deductions by the federal government of the huge loan borrowed by Rauf Aregbesola when he was Osun governor between 2010-2018.

It was terrible to such an extent that the Osun state got negative allocation of -N375million at a point in time. The negative allocation, it was learnt, was a major fallout of the N200 billion loan obtained by the Rauf Aregbesola administration.

In spite of this colossal financial shortage, Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, the incumbent governor, has been able to sustain governance using his years of experience in finances to meet the demand of the state. He pays salaries as at when due and never owed state workers since he became governor. Moreover, the huge debt profile incurred by the previous administration does not stop him from embarking on capital projects also.

He might not have been able to do more than enough, but he has been able to ensure that civil servants do not suffer like they did between 2104 to 2018. It is more sad that the previous administration who acquired the huge loan that has now rendered the state financially handicapped even left several projects embarked upon uncompleted, with about 30-month salary and pension arrears left as liability for the current government.

It was gathered from multiple sources that as at the last count, the Governor Adegboyega Oyetola-led administration had repaid about N72 billion of the accumulated debt.

“A breakdown shows that in the first two years of the Oyetola administration, the state government paid N2.4billion (monthly) of the loan obtained by the immediate past administration.

“However, after paying N72 billion of the N200 billion loan, the deductions from FAAC dropped to N1.4billon monthly, thus amounting to N72billion of the debt sum so far paid by the current government,” one of the sources said.

It was further gathered that since coming on board, Governor Oyetola has not borrowed any money (local or foreign) in the running of his administration, including paying workers’ salaries.

However, our source further revealed that “with N1.45 billion, being the actual allocation to the state from FAAC last month, the state went home with a negative of –N385million, implying that the sum would be deducted in the next allocation.

“This is in addition to the N1.8billion to be originally deducted in servicing the loan obtained by the Aregbesola administration.”

It must now be of note that this same problem of paucity of fund still persist as our Osun people have now decided to change the current government through the ballots in the just concluded governorship election. It now remains to be seen how Ademola Adeleke will deal with the financial problems.

From my own point of view, nothing much should be expected from the next governor. He will also be rattled when he’s finally sworn in and becomes privy to the financial realities of the State. The bitter truth is that Osun State workers should be bracing up for a hard time and some sort of salary crisis. This is not a threat or a prophecy of doom, but a wake up call to prepare the minds of the workers.

“Oyetola passes through a lot, but he is not the type that gives excuses and that is why he prioritises workers’ welfare. Remember, he hasn’t borrowed a kobo since coming on board, yet, this silent achiever is rolling out projects. Not many governors who found themselves in his shoes would resist the ‘temptation’ of borrowing like he is doing.”

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