Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party {PDP}, yesterday said it has uncovered plot by Governor Rauf Aregbesola to retrench about 10, 000 workers from the state workforce.
The modalities to be adopted in sacking the workers, according to PDP, is being handled by a stalwart of All Progressives Congress {APC} who allegedly “did a similar job during the tenure of Chief Bisi Akande as governor, when workers were unceremoniously eased out of service.”
But in a swift reaction, the APC debunked the allegation, describing it is an attempt to blackmail the government. The APC Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, noted “PDP is used to telling white lies to gain cheap publicity.”
He said the administration of Governor Aregbesola has no intention to sack workers but would continue to strive to enhance their welfare.
The PDP, in a statement yesterday in Osogbo by its Director of Media and Strategy, Diran Odeyemi, said: “We have it on good authority that a ‘situation office’ reminiscent of the inglorious era of Alliance for Democracy (AD) government-led by Chief Bisi Akande-has been opened inside Osun Government House in Okefia to handle the retrenchment exercise.
“A key figure in the team that handled similar exercise for Akande is heading the team working on the modalities to be adopted to force many workers out of service”. It added that the first phase of the plot to sack the hapless workers is to create division within the labour movement to ensure no serious opposition is raised when the exercise begins.
The PDP also told workers to brace up for moves by government to find fault and hide behind failure to report for work on Tuesday to sack them, and should that fail, all level 13 officers and above, regardless of their age, should be ready for retirement.
It added that the kind of subject teachers are handling and number of periods they have per week, will be used to determine those that will be sacked, especially among secondary schools teachers.
The PDP also berated Aregbesola administration for allegedly lying that two months salaries of workers would be paid last week only to pay most of them less than 30 percent of a month’s salary.
“What sort of governor would tell a blatant lie, all in desperate bid to get the pauperised workers back to their duty posts? It is not only saddening that such has been the character that has handed the collective destiny of Osun people, it is very interesting that castle of lies Aregbesola has built in almost five years is beginning to crumble, even when he has not left government’’.
The opposition party urged Aregbesola to call stakeholders meeting where Osun issues will be discussed “since he appears clueless on how to get out of the quagmire he has sunk the state into.”