Disregard Half-Salary Rumours, Akere Urges Osun Workers

Osun State government workers have been advised to disregard rumours being peddled by mischief makers that the government has decided to be paying half salary to its workforce.
Speaking with newsmen yesterday in Osogbo, the immediate past commissioner for information and strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, said at no time was such a decision taken.
Akere said that in the process of negotiating the call-off of the six weeks industrial action embarked upon by the workers, agreement was reached that the government would make efforts to clear the backlog of salary arrears as soon as the relief package announced by the federal government was received by the state.
He said, “The relief package for the benefit of the doubting Thomases is in three phases, the first being the $2.1billion paid as tax by NLNG and Shell which was shared among the three tiers of government. The second is the N300billion being made available by the CBN for states that are owing their workers to access as loan, while the third is the rescheduling of the debt owed by states by the Debt Management Office so that repayment of the debts will become easier and spread to longer years.
“While the share of Osun State from the NLNG money was N2.2billion, the CBN grant is yet to be received while the DMO rescheduling is for future allocation to the state.
“On receipt of the N2.2billion NLNG lifeline, the governor instructed that the sum of N100million be added to ensure that payment is done to all categories of workers irrespective of their take home pay.”
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