Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state has explained the rationale behind the employment of additional 1,000 workers into the State Civil Service one month to the end of his tenure, saying those newly employed had sat for entrance exams for more than one year as the time was ripe for government to recruit those that past the exams.
He also ordered immediate payment of N10.1 billion to offset the much-talked- about accumulated workers’ deductions and N10.1 billion for the payment of April salaries of all workers in the State Civil and Public Service as well as payment of leave bonuses starting from next week.
Speaking at a May Day parade at MKO Abiola International Stadium on Tuesday amid low turnout of workers, Governor Amosun declared that from tomorrow
(Thursday), the workers would start receiving alerts for all deductions and full gross of April salaries, totalling N20.2bn, saying he had instructed the Finance Commissioner to ensure that all leave allowances must come in from next week.
According to him, all promotion letters would be rolled out up to 2017 but the in -coming Governor, (Dapo Abiodun) would handle that of the 2018, but he therefore submitted that his administration would leave behind, a workforce that is more informed, better equipped and can even work anywhere compared to what he met on ground in 2011.
He said: “We are not where we should be, but clearly we are on the right path. Yes, we may have our issues, but to the glory of God, we are leaving Ogun State better than we met it. We are leaving behind a workforce that is more informed, better equipped and can even work anywhere.
“All we need to do is to follow the path we created and still creating to follow it through. Tomorrow, you will receive N20.2 billion for all outstanding deductions and April salaries.
“From next week, we will begin to pay our leave bonuses. As for the gratuity….. Gratuities are monies we use for development when we leave the service. We must wait at least two years before we bring in our papers and use one year to process the papers.
“So when you count back from when we will be leaving, whatever it is that we are owing, we will run round to pay that part of gratuity. I am not owing anybody for the check off dues, deductions and salaries since 2011 to 2019 that I will be leaving.
“The newly recruited staff is not a kangaroo recruitment. These are people that sat for the exam almost a year back and the procedures were followed, not that Amosun just woke up one day and said because I am leaving, I will bring in more people.
“These are the people that wrote ASCON exams since early last year. We just took one thousand from them. If we are to pick all that wrote the exams, we may probably say we want to pick five thousand.
“We picked one thousand from those that sat for the ASCON exams. We have given them their letters. As we employ more and create new offices in the Public service, there is also the need to create necessary ambience, to bring out the creativity and professionalism of our public servants.”
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
