Barely two weeks to the gubernatorial election in Ondo state, Civil Servants in the state have moved against the re-election bid of the governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa whose current regime they described as ” one chance” and thus, does not deserve any more of their support.
Apparently frustrated by the reluctance of the governor to take any visible step, towards the fulfilment of his promise to commence payment of the Federal government approved minimum wage of N70,000 immediately it was approved few months ago, the civil servants, accused the governor of deceit, declaring that “Aiyedatiwa’s deceit has been exposed through his various actions and statements which are illogical to common sense”
In a statement issued in Akure, the state Capital on Friday by the workers’ interest group:Concerned Ondo Public Servants (COPS), the workers accused the governor of treating Civil servants in the state like school children.
COPS’ outburst, was in apparent reaction to the state government’s statement , that civil servants in the state should not expect commencement of their minimum wage payment ,until the end of November, after the intervention of the state’s chapter of the Nigerian Union Of Journalist.
Reacting to the statement, the Concerned Public Servants wondered that ” if Aiyedatiwa who has election in two weeks time could deceive and afford to dribble the civil servants as he is doing, how much more when he has no election to contest and nothing at stake” hence, the body opined, that the promise to commence payment at the end of November was a mere ruse to give the workers a false hope and mere gimmick to curry votes of the civil servants in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections.
The group, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Segun Aderibigbe, registered it’s grievance with the governor, as it declared that “the issue of minimum wage has dominated the public space for over three months. While some states have already commenced paying minimum wage, in Ondo State, we are still subjected to empty promises.
“Worse still, instead of the Governor to respect the sensibility of the entire civil servants in the state, he is trying to make nonsense of our common sense.
“The dribbling we have experienced under this government is unprecedented.
“Mr. Governor’s statement that our minimum wage would be paid by the end of this month (November) is nothing but pure deceit. Even in states where there are no elections, the minimum wage has been finalised and paid”
Putting a lie to the promise of the governor to commence minimum wage payment by November ending, the workers explained that “there has been no negotiation nor engagement between the government and the labour leaders thus wondering, how feasible is the November ending payment promise.
” Of concern to us basically,is that, despite having election in few weeks time, we are still subjected to mere promises with no action.
“As we speak, there is no table showing the consequential adjustment and the level pay for the various levels in civil service. The Labour leaders are not aware of any move or development and whether the interest of the workforce is being protected ” the workers’ statement also read.
Concluding that the re-election of the governor will be inimical to the wellbeing of workers, the COPS thus “warned the entire public service to be wary of Mr. Ayedatiwa’s antics.
“Someone who doesn’t deem it fit to prioritise our minimum wage and wanted us to vote for him based on empty promises doesn’t deserve our support” concluding that, “by now, it should be clear to all and sundry that we have entered ‘one chance’ in Ondo State”
