By Tosin Olatokunbo
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state, has moved swiftly to avert a major labour crisis in the state. The administration, on Wednesday, said it is prepared to meet with leaders of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC and other unions a day after the workers embarked on strike due to unpaid emoluments.
As a goodwill to resolving the labour problem, the state government said workers will receive their June salaries within 24 hours.
Abdulwaheed Odusile, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, disclosed in a statement on Tuesday that the government is trying to address the grievances of the angry workers.
Governor Abiodun had before the workers embarked on the strike blamed his predecessors for the backlog of unpaid entitlements.
In spite of this, the state government said it will still meet with the workers where the issues will be addressed, adding that the administration is commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of workers in the State. Abiodun is a workers’ friendly governor, the government said.
The statement quoted the governor as saying that he’s “personally committed to ensuring an improved welfare of workers in Ogun State and will do all that is necessary to achieve this” noting that ‘this is a workers’ friendly administration and will remain so under my watch”.
“One of the first duties I performed on my first day at work as the governor on May 30, 2019 was to approve the immediate payment of salaries of our workers, which had not been paid by the immediate past Administration until then.
The governor said dwindling financial resources has limited government’s ability to meet the needs of the workers, however, adding that salaries will now be paid promptly staring from the end of this month.
Abiodun said, “I also made a vow that salaries of workers in the state will be paid on or before the end of each month. And we have been doing that religiously ever since.
“Even in the face of dwindling resources, rising needs and this strike, the salaries are being remitted. I am sure they will start receiving bank credit alerts in the next 24 hours for the month of June.
“We are one of the few States in the country not owing workers salary and paying as and when due.
“Most of their complaints were inherited from the previous Administrations, but as a responsive and responsible government, we are tackling them one after the other, even as we are being hampered by paucity of funds.
“The money accruable to us from the Federation Account and sundry sources have been dwindling for a long time now and this is affecting our ability to meet some of our obligations but even at that we have been prioritising the interests of our workforce.”
