Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun says he has approved N20.2 billion for payment of 18 months’ outstanding deductions from workers’ salaries in the state.
Amosun made the disclosure in his address at the 2019 May Day rally held at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, on Wednesday.
The governor, who expressed dissatisfaction at the manner the workers handled the issue, gave the assurance that the deductions would be cleared by Thursday.
“By tomorrow (Thursday), I would have paid all the outstanding deductions which you vilified me for,” Amosun said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that non-payment of the deductions caused a rift between the state government and the organised labour in the state.
Amosun attributed the delay in the payment to his administration’s commitment to infrastructure development among other commitments.
According to him, the Federal Government is to reinmburse Ogun Government the sum of N90 billion expended by the state in repairing federal roads and other infrastructure within Ogun.
On the N30,000 minimum wage, he said that his administration had already laid the foundation that would enable the incoming government to implement it.
“So, on Thursday, the accounts of all our workers in Ogun State would be credited with their outstanding deductions.
“We must realise that in spite of all successes achieved in the last eight years of our administration, our dear Ogun state is still a work in progress.
”In whatever position we find ourselves, either as civil servants or as political office holders, we should realise that we hold such offices in trust and we need to join hands together to ensure that we bring development to our dear state.
“Let me assure you that our administration will not abandon any of our ongoing projects, especially those that have something to do with the development of the workforce,” Amosun said.
Earlier, the state Chairmen of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, Messrs Emmanuel Bankole and Fajobi Adebayo, respectively, demanded implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage by the state government.
