Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has urged workers in
the state to call off their strike and hold talks with the government.
The governor said the salaries for local
government workers were ready for payment, with limited additional funds
available for sharing.
However, he said, nothing could be done
because civil servants were on strike had critical roles to play in the disbursement
of the funds.
Fayose, who spoke on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti
through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, expressed sympathy with
the striking workers and the inconveniences the current financial situation in
the country was causing them.
He, however, warned that the financial
condition of the country might not get better soon.
The governor said he had foreseen the
current situation which made him to be transparent in the handling of finances
of the state.
He said, “I have not hidden anything from
the labour leaders and what our dear state is experiencing now has been
aggravated by the mindless borrowings of the immediate past administration in
the state.
“The state is paying about N1bn monthly to
service the bond and the commercial loans they took. If that did not happen, we
would have had such money to add to our monthly allocations.
“During my first term in office, I was
paying salaries regularly and on the 22nd of every month and workers never went
on strike. I sympathise with the workers and regret the inconveniences the
current financial situation in the country is causing them.
“The situation is not limited to Ekiti
State, as the country is on a recession. All these I have foreseen that made me
open the finances of the state to all and run an all inclusive financial
management.
“Regrettably, it is difficult to give what
you don’t have. It is in the interest of the state that the workers need to
come to terms with the reality on the dwindling allocations coming to the state
because even two months allocations can no longer pay one month salary.
“I implore workers and their leaders to
note that even the recent nationwide strike called over fuel price increase was
called off for the two sides to go into negotiation and dialogue.”
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