Ex-aides of the former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, have called on President Bola Tinubu to use his good offices to persuade the incumbent Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, to pay their severance gratuity denied them since 2019.
They lamented that in spite of the humongous amount accruing to Ogun State under the Tinubu-led administration and the charge of the President for the state governors to cushion the economic hardship through payments of outstanding debts to their citizens, the governor had refused to fulfil his pledge to offset the severance allowance.
According to a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, representatives of the former Special Assistants who served between 2015 and 2019, Fakorede Adesanya, Okoya Babatunde and Musiliu Oladeinde, said Governor Abiodun met them ahead of the 2023 elections and promised to pay the severance allowance.
“This is an acknowledgement that we are entitled to and deserve the allowance,” the statement added.
“The governor has denied us the legitimate entitlement for five years. This has caused us psychological trauma. In the course of time, the value of the gratuity has depreciated considerably. Many of our colleagues who resigned their jobs to serve Ogun State could not return to the jobs. Many of them and their families are in financial straits, hence our appeal for President Tinubu’s intervention,” said the representatives of the ex-Special Assistants.
In one of the several letters sent to the governor, dated August 5, 2021, the former appointees lauded the achievements of the Abiodun-led administration in the state, including the retention of the 2,000 workers employed in the twilight of the last administration rather than laying them off.
It added that, “Many of us resigned our jobs in order to serve our state. As the current helmsman, you would have taken cognisance of our plight during the four years of our faithful and selfless service. As we noted in our earlier letter on the subject matter, dated 6th June, 2019, we humbly appeal to Your Excellency to kindly offset the SEVERANCE in order to encourage sacrificial service to the good people of Ogun State by public office holders.”