Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has commenced distribution of bonds to retirees in the state to the tune of N2.9bn.
This is as workers in the state under the aegis of Joint Negotiation Council conferred on the Governor, the award of “Most Humane Governor”.
Addressing the gathering after presenting certificates to selected retirees at the parking lot of the Governor’s office, Governor Adeleke reiterated his commitment to workers’ welfare.
He added, “It is in this direction that I have further approved the release of another tranche of bonds totaling Two Billion, Nine Hundred and Twenty Five Million, Three Hundred and Thirty Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty Five kobo (N2,925,332,835.75).
“From the figure above, state retirees will get, One Billion, Three Hundred Million Naira (N1,300,000,000.00) and their local Government/Primary school retirees is to get, One Billion, Six Hundred and Twenty Five Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Five Thousand Naira(1,625,332,835,75)”.
Meanwhile, the Governor assured the people of the state of his determination to sustained pursuit of the progress of the state, through appropriately focusing on both the formal and informal sector of the state economy.
“The positive testimonies from the various unions and labour leaders attested to the correctness of our original thinking when running for the state governorship. We had analyzed the political space and concluded then that the smartest way to grow Osun is workers welfare. We accept and adopt the reality that human capital is a strong foundation for integrated development of the state.
“We had also spotted the nexus between formal and informal workers in the state. Easing the challenges of the public service has the tendency to uplift the economic well being of the informal sector. These analyses were responsible for placing workers’ welfare as number one priority in our governance agenda.
In his remark, the Head of Service, Ayanleye Aina, commended the governor for deeming it fit to offset gradually, backlog of salary arrears owed senior civil servants in the state.
“Prior to the advent of your Administration in the State, senior workers were owed several months of unpaid half salaries, a situation that came to the national limelight. Believing that governance is a continuum, your administration has been consistently offsetting these backlog of salary and pension arrears. As we speak, four months arrears have been paid to date.
“You broke the age long jinx of aberration of Coordinating Directors as career heads of MDAs by appointing qualified civil servants as Permanent Secretaries, an action that brought life back to the entire Civil Service”, he said. (Vanguard)