#BBB NEWS| Osun State PDP Moves To Impeach Governor Aregbesola, State Workers Enter 7 Months Without Pay

Some Osun State lawmakers have moved to impeach the present Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended the lawmakers’ resolve through a statement by the PDP Publicity Secretary, Bola Ajao. They contend that it is essential that State workers are protected.

State workers from States across Nigeria have not been paid by their government, the most notorious case has been the Osun State workers who have been without salary for eight months. Recently, President Buhari invited State Governors from the worst affected States to attempt to find a solution.

The statement Osun State PDP said, "we want to commend the lawmakers for commencing the process of impeaching Governor Aregbesola in order to save the State."

"It is about the people of Osun State. It is about men and women who are supposedly gainfully-employed but are now refugees in their own land, living on handouts from compassionate religious and corporate bodies," the statement added.

Aregbesola has repeatedly blamed his inability to pay the salaries on former President Goodluck Jonathan's administration. This claim, as well as his other that the decrease of Federal Allocation to Osun State, are believed to have no merit because State governments are responsible for the management of Osun State funds.

As a result of this, one NGO in Osun State, Hope for Family Development Initiative (HFDI), has assessed that many citizens have died from hunger and the inability to purchase food.

The Executive Director of HFDI, Mr. Stephen Aremu, spoke at a press conference in Osogbo, Osun State, and said that it's on record that the death rate of the State had increased. This increase is duly tied to the devastation from Aregbesola's mismanagement of funds, and the governments lack of interest in the welfare of its workforce.

Many of the deaths could have been avoided if people had money to use for their health, Mr. Aremu asserts. Moreover, many HIV/AIDS patients have also been unable receive their medication from government hospitals because of employee strikes.

Governor Aregbesola promised the Osun State public that they would be paid their outstanding salaries by the end of June. However, there is no indication that Governor Aregbesola will follow through with his commitment.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says that the current worker strikes will continue even after their salaries have been paid. The workers said that they cannot take anything less than 5 months pay from the eight months the government owes.



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