Aregbesola on workers salary: I can’t pay because banks stopped giving me loans

“The challenge I face today was not my making, it is a national problem. I borrowed N24 billion to pay salaries, but when the banks say I cannot borrow again, there is nothing I can do in the face of dwindling revenue accruing to the state,” Aregbesola said regarding a backlog of huge salary arrears […]

“The challenge I face today was not my making, it is a national problem. I borrowed N24 billion to pay salaries, but when the banks say I cannot borrow again, there is nothing I can do in the face of dwindling revenue accruing to the state,” Aregbesola said regarding a backlog of huge salary arrears dating back to November last year.
“I am not shifting blame and I bear responsibility, but it was a responsibility the Nigerian state forced on me. I am still labouring physically and spiritually to pay the workers’ salary,” he added.
He said despite raising the internally generated revenues (IGR) from N900 million annually to N3.6 billion he was yet to pay workers’ salary because the banks were not forthcoming on further loans.
He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the annual Ramadan Lecture of the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria with the theme “Ramadan: Changing Positively”.
He however said that contrary to reports, local governments and other categories of workers were being paid and not owed except workers under the state’s civil service commission.
“How can anyone accuse me of mismanaging the resources of the state when my campaign promises was based on populace welfare and infrastructural development?
“By God’s Grace I have delivered on most of the promises. Initially it was thought that only Osun owed workers salary, but it can be seen that it is a national issue and that 23 of the 36 states of the federation owed their workers” he said.
He however assured his people that he was working tirelessly to ensure that those being owed are paid.
While speaking at the 7th Bola Tinubu Colloquium organised to mark Tinubu’s 63rd birthday in Lagos in March, Aregbesola said the federal allocation to the state had reduced by 40 per cent since 2013.
He said the situation became so bad at a time that he resorted to the state’s reserves and exhausted it on payment of salaries.
He said: “Osun is next to Lagos in the sheer size of its civil service.
“In fact, the state inherited 50 per cent of all the workers in the old western state and more than 75 per cent in the old Oyo State.
“I was meeting my wage bill of over N3.6 billion with N4.6 billion federal allocation until July, 2013 when the Federal Government announced a decline of about 40 per cent allocation to states.
“This reduced the state’s allocation from N4.6 billion with which I was meeting my bills to N2.6 billion. Since then, Osun has had to augment salaries by sometimes N1 billion, sometimes N1.6 billion.”
Buhari must probe oil sector
Aregbesola urged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the rising oil theft and recover the unremitted oil and other government revenues. 
He said this year’s Ramadan coincided with the election of President Buhari by Nigerians hence his taking the occasion as “living in a season of positive change.”
He said “Up to 60 per cent of crude oil sales were not remitted into the federation account, among other grand larcenies. How could states fulfill their obligations in such circumstances?”
Speaking on his state’s inability to pay workers salaries, he said “People forget that 52 percent of the nation’s total revenue generated goes to the federal government but it is easy to blame the governors because they are the leaders of their states even when there is nothing they could do.”
“We prayed for a change and God answered our prayers with the second coming of Buhari. Before the coming of President Buhari, this nation was winding towards a shutdown. Corruption had become rampant. The institutions of state are being gradually corroded and destroyed,” he said.
He said: “The era during which we had the highest level of prosperity also coincided with the highest level of poverty. It got so bad that from reliable report, 23 states are unable to pay workers salaries. Initially, the frenzy of media reports gave the false impression that it was an Osun and Aregbesola’s problem.”
The governor said that it was unacceptable that 15 percent of the nation’s total oil lifted was lost to oil theft daily. He urged President Buhari to take drastic action to stem the tide apart from ensuring the full refund of unremitted oil and other revenue accruing to the government.