Kazeem Badmus
THE candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the July 16, 2022 gubernatorial election in the State of Osun, Arc. Goke Omigbodun, has warned workers in the state to beware of ‘a vindictive governor with fake promises’ to curry their electoral favour.
Omigbodun, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER, yesterday, cautioned workers in the state on their choice of candidate in the forthcoming election, asking them not to follow or support a candidate who has refused to fulfil the campaign promises he made in 2018.
He said he has no doubt that workers in the state will have regrets if they believe the promises made by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola during the Workers Day, saying it is an empty promise to cajole the workers.
Oyetola had on Sunday announced the approval of seven major demands of the members of the Joint Labour Movement.
Parts of the approved demands include: immediate implementation of the cash-backing of outstanding promotions for all categories of workers, 100% implementation of Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS), immediate implementation of 65 years retirement age for all categories of Staff in the tertiary institutions and appointment of Permanent Secretaries in due course to put an end to the use of Coordinating Directors in Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
But Omigbodun maintained that the same governor had promised the workers promotion in 2018 without backing it up financially and has also refused to pay salary arrears as promised.
He said: “Osun people are tired of fake promises by the outgoing governor. Osun People are tired of deceit and lies. We should no more entertain lies as promises. When you tell lies and call them promises, you are not only deceiving the people but you are deceiving yourself also.
“In 2018, this same people promised that the workers will be promoted, all that happened is that they were promoted on paper without being backed by any other ramification. That was about four years ago and now that we are about to go for another election, they have come with fake promises again.
“Things should begin to change now. For so long, people who ought to have been Permanent Secretaries were not promoted and the same Governor is now making false promises again.
“I sympathised with the workers who had to live with the previous fake promises and I want them to know that if they believe him on this also, it will turn out be like the other promises”.
Omigbodun berated the Governor for claiming that there is no money to implement the promotion of the workers, claiming that the governor has been paying his party officials from Ward to the State level with the government money.
“The current administration claimed there is no enough money to back those promises, then I asked them; where have you been getting enough cash to pay your own party people every month for the 389 wards in the State?
“That cash that you are able to generate by any means whatsoever is meant to back the promotion that was promised since 2018. It ought to have been used to back pension and gratuities. It ought to be used to back the employment of more people into the public service and to be spent on projects that will generate jobs for the youths”.
When asked how he will synergise with the workers when the leadership of the labour unions have openly endorsed Oyetola for second term, Omigbodun said the leadership of the workers only endorsed Oyetola because of his vindictive nature.
He said: “There are workers unions and there are workers. The leadership of the workers unions are different from the entire workers of the workforce. The leadership of the workers must be careful in all they do, especially recognising that the government of the day is very vindictive.
“The government of the day will muscle anybody that dare speaks against what they believed in. So, if you find the leadership of the workers being very careful, it is because they know the vindictive governor that they have.
“If you search their hearts, you will know who each of them is going to vote for and what is going to happen through the workforce”.
