“We are very concerned as a political party that the way this government is running the affairs of the State is dangerous and could eventually ruin the State."
The main opposition party in Ondo State, All Progressives Congress (APC), raised alarm on Sunday by alleging that Governor Olusegun Mimiko stockpiled funds meant to offset government workers’ outstanding salaries and bonuses.
In his statement, Steve Otaloro, the party spokesman in Ondo State, expressed fear that Mr. Mimiko’s government might leave behind a huge debt profile for the successive government as it continues to shirk its responsibility to workers in the State.
“We are very concerned as a political party that the way this government is running the affairs of the State is dangerous and could eventually ruin the State,” Mr. Otaloro said.
He stated that Mr. Mimiko has lost the confidence of the Ondo State populace who initially supported him and knew it would prove difficult to win their votes again for his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government.
“He therefore decided to devise a cunning way of earning their trust by seriously impoverishing the people through his programs and policies and by stockpiling cash that should have been used to pay workers to buy their votes on election day.”
Mr. Otaloro scolded the incumbent government for owing civil servants in the State five months’ salaries and accused Mr. Mimiko of ‘desirously bothered’ on how to plant a surrogate that could carpet the deeds of his maladministration.
“It is also sheer wickedness on the part of the government who owes salaries to workers only to be seen busy making plans for his succession without showing sufficient concern to the plight of workers.
“Workers in Ondo State are currently moaning and groaning under serious economic hardship, as they have not received their salaries in a record of almost five months,” he said.
SaharaReporters authoritatively learned that government workers in the State were last paid their salaries in October and November of last year.
“This action of the government has almost paralyzed the civil service. Many civil servants now sit at home as they cannot afford the means of transportation to work in the face of the high cost of fuel and its scarcity,” our correspondent reported.
Mr. Otaloro asserted further that Mr. Mimiko’s administration should not make excuses for not paying workers their salaries, owing to the fact that about N15b in intervention funds was released to the State by the federal government to help pay salaries and pensions.
He added that the Mimiko government lacks knowledge on how to manage the State economy despite his administration borrowing billions of funds to finance capital projects.
“The [Ondo State] government had received several billions of naira in loans from different financial institutions that were not utilized for their intended purposes, and this had consequently collapsed State finances and almost rendered it insolvent,” Mr. Otaloro stated.
“It's a shame that we found ourselves in this kind of situation. As an oil producing State, we are expected to be solvent enough to pay workers and meet other government obligations, but that is not the case.”