The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State says the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has proven the party’s allegation that the state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, squandered the bailout funds given him by President Muhammadu Buhari.
An ICPC report recently indicted Aregbesola for allegedly squandering the N34.9 billion Federal Government Bailout Funds which was approved for salaries of workers in the state in the face of huge financial challenges facing the state government.
In a statement signed by the PDP Director of Media and Strategy in the state, Prince Diran Odeyemi, the party said: “ICPC had confirmed that Osun state governor got bail out cash from the Federal Government for the settlement of arrears of workers’ salaries and emoluments but diverted the funds for other purposes, thereby defeating the purpose of the government’s effort to provide succour for the workers.
“When we cried out that our governor had fixed the bailout, they called us liars, when we alerted that part of the fund was later used to pay a powerful contractor now in Buhari’s government, they denied it.
“What will the government say now that an independent government agency (ICPC) has confirmed and corroborated out claims, indeed, we have been vindicated.”
The opposition party said further that a comprehensive analysis carried out by the ICPC in conjunction with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) revealed that Osun is one of the states that deliberately lied to the Federal Government that they were owing their workers.
Even when the fund came, the State did not still pay its workers, the PDP alleged.
The ICPC, in its report, had said Osun State received N34,988,990,000.00 as bailout fund and disbursed N18,677,224,582.20, leaving a balance of N16,311,765.418 as at November, 2015.
The PDP appealed to ICPC to come to the rescue of workers in the state adding: “we are aware that Osun State workers have not been receiving full salaries since July 2015 and even at that, the state government is owing them four months salary.”
The party claimed Aregbesola had lied that salaries had been paid up to January, 2016.
