Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has disclosed that the immediate past administration of Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala left a debt of N4.8 billion, withdrew N3billion from government coffers five days to the end of his administration and left the state finance in a shambles.
Senator Ajimobi, who made the disclosure on Thursday,while featuring on a live interview broadcast on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), said N3billion being proceeds from the sale of government quarters to assuage the suffering of pensioners was withdrawn from the state account by the Alao-Akala-led administration.
But former Governor Alao-Akala said he left no debt for Ajimobi and advised him to rise up to the challenge of his new office and stop lamenting over the state of affairs in the state, because government is a continuum.
Alao-Akala stated this in reaction to the allegation by his successor that he left behind a debt profile of over N4 billion, and single-handedly paid a contractor a sum of N1 billion for a contract that was yet to be completed.
The governor stated that Chief Alao-Akala paid a contractor N1billion mobilisation fee for a yet-to-be executed and hurriedly signed an agreement with labour on the new minimum wage to create problems for the new administration in the state.
He explained that a committee would be set up to look into the accounts of the state and come up with recommendations, accusing the Alao-Akala-led government of incompetence and fraud, while stressing to plug all leakages in government.
On the threat of strike by the state civil servants over the clamour for new minimum wage, he stated that all the monthly takings of the government was N4.2billion which, he said, could not foot a monthly wage bill of N4.4 billion, if the new wage was paid.
He appealed to the workers to accept the salary increase of between 45 and 100 per cent which he discussed with them, pending when there is improvement in government revenue and the constitution of a new House of Assembly to look into the isssue for approval as an extra-budgetary spending, since the new wage was not factored into the 2011 appropriation law.
"The increase we have offered in Oyo State is one that will see a Grade Level 01 worker getting N13,500 monthly, while a Level 16 civil servant will get between N140,000 and N150, 000, as a demonstration of our government's commitment to workers' welfare.Our workers are the least paid in the South-West and we shall definitely do something about that and we have even started," the governor said.
However, speaking with Nigerian Tribune, Chief Alao-Akala said, “Governor Ajimobi should stop lamenting and playing to the gallery, because I did not leave any debt for him to inherit. What he referred to as debt is in fact, the money the state government is owing contractors on ongoing projects. I did not leave any debt for him, because government is a continuum. I did not take any loan from the banks so I did not leave any debt.”
He stated further, “the governor should be bold enough to tell the workers how he stopped their May salary based on N18,000 minimum wage in a letter written to Skye Bank.
“When I came in in 2007, I met debts owed contractors by the previous government and I did not make any noise about it because I realised that government is a continuum. I expect the governor to settle down and face governance because it is not a tea party.”
According to Alao-Akala, “as a governor, I could pay any contractor who has delivered on his job any amount, provided the consultant who handled the project certified that the job had been done to specification. The consultants who supervised the job are there for consultation. But I will advise Ajimobi that he should concentrate on how he is going to make life meaningful for the people instead of crying wolf where there is none.”
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