Chairman, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ogun State chapter, Emmanuel Bankole, has confirmed that the outgoing Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has paid workers’ deductions as he promised.
The confirmation came just as the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress alleged that Amosun had fixed the money in a deposit account for personal interest.
The NLC chairman told our correspondent on the phone on Tuesday while clearing the air on the insinuation that the governor had reneged on his promise to pay the deductions.
The governor had during the Workers’ Day celebration in Abeokuta told the workers they would start receiving alerts after 24 hours.
But days after, workers did not receive alerts, prompting insinuations that the governor would not make the payment.
When asked whether the workers had started receiving alerts, the NLC chairman confirmed that substantial number of workers had received, saying, “Good number of them (workers) have been paid”.
He added, “Except for local government workers who have not been paid, all the outstanding have been paid, I can confirm this to you.”
But reacting to the news of the payment, the Ogun APC in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Tuesday and signed by the party’s caretaker committee’s publicity secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, alleged that Amosun had kept the money in a fixed deposit account.
The statement read in part, “Amosun should bury his head in shame. He has not done any special favour to the workers. He should have paid the workers with the interests on their money he used as fixed deposits with leading commercial banks for years, thereby reaping billions of naira in interest.
“Or where did Amosun suddenly get the money when there is no excess crude oil payment, Paris Club refund or bailout by the FG. If Amosun has given these funds to the owners when due, instead of trading with them, many who lost their lives would have been saved; many families would not have been broken and many who developed high blood pressure and related diseases would have been saved from such ailments.”
When contacted, a Special Adviser to Governor Amosun, Mr Rotimi Durojaiye, faulted the claims.
He said “Ogun State workers cannot say that. They know the governor loves them, and they love him too.
“Whosoever is trying to knock the heads of workers with the governor is mischievous and ungodly.”
