Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce
A
civil rights activist, Dr. Olusegun Aderemi, has described as sheer
mockery of Osun State workers’ plight, the offer being made by Senator
Ben Murray-Bruce to donate half of his wardrobe allowance to them.
Aderemi, a member of the Society for
Corporate Governance of Nigeria, said this on Monday at Sango in
Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government of Ogun State while commenting on the
plights of public workers in the country.
He noted that the Osun State workers who
were being owed eight months’ salaries were not beggars and should not
be treated as such. He said all they were asking for “is their
legitimate wages which they really worked hard for.”
Aderemi, who is also a businessman,
queried how far the N250,000 promised by the senator from Bayelsa State
would go in solving the huge salary debts.
Describing the money promised by
Murray-Bruce as tax payers’ money which he didn’t work for, Aderemi
added that the senator could have dipped his hands into his personal
business and give substantial money to the embattled workers.
He said, “Senator Ben Murray-Bruce is
playing politics with the plight of the Osun State workers. The half of
his wardrobe allowance that he promised to give to the people is the
people’s money because he has not done anything to earn that money.
“The workers deserve the salaries because they worked hard for the money.
“If he wants to sincerely give to the people, let him take substantial fund from the proceeds of his business.”
He urged Murray-Bruce to intervene in
the situations of workers in all states owing salaries, by working with
other lawmakers to fashion out a lasting solution together in concert
with the Federal Government.
Aderemi called on all state governments,
especially those affected by the ongoing cash-crunch to consider
venturing into businesses that could generate funds with which they
could augment their financial strength.
He said, “All states spend over 67 per
cent of their allocation on salaries and one would wonder how
developmental projects could be done in the states.
“They should embark on viable ventures that would sustain them even before allocations from the Federation Account arrive.”
He, however, urged the All Progressives
Congress-led government to look into ways of partnering with the other
two layers of government in ensuring rapid development at these levels.
Copyright PUNCH.
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