The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has slammed Governor Ayodele Fayose for refusal to pay workers their September and December salaries, saying such is a deliberate insensitivity to the yearnings of workers to enjoy the end-of-year festivities with their families.
A statement by the APC Publicity Secretary in Ekiti State, Taiwo Olatubosun, said it is ungodly for a leader to enjoy all the bliss that goes with Christmas while denying the people he leads their entitlements at the time members of their families look up to them for the yearly pleasure of Christmas.
Olatubosun said that by December 18 last year, all workers had received their salaries and Christmas bonus in addition to their leave bonus, while pensioners were also paid.
He said Fayose grudgingly asked the banks to pay workers half of their salary in the night of December 24 after bitter complaints from workers.
He said: “It is evil for a leader to deduct N2,000 from the salary of each worker for the purpose of buying them Christmas gifts only to give not up to half of the workers a chicken smaller than a pigeon worth less than N800.
“It is callous to take convention funds for the delegates of your party members on the guise that you are spending it for Christmas gift only for you to keep more than half of that money in your private pocket while your party members go hungry during this festive period.”
Olatunbosun added that Fayose had made avoidable suffering part of his policy to make life unbearable for Ekiti State people, citing shutting down the state capital every night by cutting off streetlights at nights with its attendant insecurity of life and property.
He added: “On Christmas eve when our people were supposed to be in celebration mood, Ekiti frustrated workers were on queues at ATM points waiting for the salary alerts.
“Today, night life is gone in the state capital because there is no streetlights again.
“Armed robbers and pick-pockets are back in the state capital terrorising residents at nights.
“The governor promised Ekiti people rice and chickens for Christmas but only gave one and half “congos” of rice and one “oromodiye” (chicken) that costs less than N600 and not fit for consumption.”
Olatubosun urged NAFDAC to conduct investigation into the suitability of the chickens the governor gave out to workers for consumption, noting that rearing seven-month-old chickens forconsumption is cruelty against animals.
The APC spokesman said instead of giving Ekiti State youths promising future, Fayose had turned them to an army of beggars and hangers-on.
He added that while the governor did not have any youth empowerment scheme to create jobs for Ekiti State youths, he had been using his personal mechanics from his Ibadan. Oyo State base to work on government serviceable vehicles in the Government House vehicles pool.
Source:- The Eagle Online
