Gov Ajimobi of Oyo State:

Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan

Oyo chapter of Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, has assured the state’s workers that it would ensure that the state government fully uses the next tranche of Paris Club refund to pay outstanding  salaries

The union Chairman, Comrade Waheed Olojede stated this at the 2017 Women Committee Quadrennial Delegate Conference of the Women Wing of the State Council of the Union stressing that the welfare of the workers is still of uttermost concern to the leadership of the Council.

He said that the Council is patiently waiting for the fund to be released to the state government before further action is taken

According to him, “I want to assure our workers that we will never rest on our oas to ensure that the arrears of salaries and entitlements owned workers in the state by the government of Oyo state are paid in no distant future. We are patiently waiting for the assistance to be given to states through the Paris Club fund refund. If this next one comes, we are already in touch with the government of Oyo state to ensure that whatever is credited into the account of Oyo State Government is used to clear all the arrears of outstanding of workers. We have the responsibility and commitment as leaders of workers to ensure that we protect their industrial interest before their employer, that is the state government”.

While commending the women wing on the delegate conference, Olojede said the congress is already setting an example for the political elites to allow for distribution of positions for the various geo-political zones as a way of preventing post election crisis.

He said, “What we have done here is to resolve at congress level how the various positions are shared among the existing councils of the state congress. And we are using this to pass an important message to the political leaders. Today, Nigeria is divided into geo-political zones. If positions will be distributed to these zones, the zones should be able to resolve issues rather than going into contests and bringing enemity after the contests. Most people after elections are lost and won live in acrimony and when that happens, peace will always elude us and there will be continous agitations and counter-agitations”.

In a remark, the NLC National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba in an address to the state women workers charged the women to ensure that they do everything possible to ensure that the Oyo State Government do the needful in getting their payment done promptly as the fund is released.

Wabba assured that in no distance time that the National leadership of the congress would do everything possible to get the Federal Government on its toes in ensuring that the new minimum wage is achieved for the Nigerian workers.

After the conference, Comrade Rukayat Afonja, Comrade Dorcas Lawal, Comrade Adetokun Oluseun and Comrade Akanbi Abosede emerged, Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Assistant Secretary respectively.

Meanwhile, Oyo State Government has warned Local Governments, LGs, and Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, in the state to conduct their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, with decorum or face sanctions.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Abimbola Adekanmbi handed down this caution in a circular to all LGs and LCDs in the state.

Mr. Adekanmbi explained that this decision was taken due to inordinate and uncoordinated Tax drives by Revenue Agents appointed by local governments and local council development areas especially in the area of wrongful parking, stressing that LGs and LCDAs, have been barred from collecting fees for wrong parking and illegal parked vehicles on the major roads as well as expressways from motorists.

He said, “The agents have conducted themselves in a manner capable of causing breach of public peace. It therefore becomes necessary that the Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue, as the body statutorily empowered to interpret the Joint Tax Board policies and see to the implementation in Oyo State”.

Mr. Adekanmbi said that all LGs and LCDAs have been restricted to collection of fees for wrong parking in the Motor parks in their jurisdictions only, adding that they are expected to do this with decorum without causing unnecessary hardship to the people of the state.

He warned that the State Government and the BIR will not hesitate to apply all possible sanctions against any LGs or LCDAs that continue to flout the directives of the state government.