Aregbesola Decries Shortfall In Statutory Allocation

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has decried the dwindling of allocations accruing to the states in the country, saying that the situation was responsible for the delayed payment of workers salaries in the state.
Governor Aregbesola, who spoke through the state Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Dr Wale Bolorunduro also blamed the Federal Government for the poor economic condition of the 36 states of the country.
He attributed the non-payment of pension arrears to retirees in the state to the dwindling allocation from the federation account since July last year.
Giving analysis of the state’s finance, Aregbesola stated: “The salary paid in Osun State was N1.6billion when I assumed office in November 2010. It increased to N2.4billion a year after as a result of the new minimum wage and now, we are paying N3billion as salary in the state.”
He explained also that the pension paid by the state was N2.6 million in 2011 but increased to N6million in 2013 due to mass retirement by civil servants at both the state and local government levels.
Governor Aregbesola also said that the state was next to Lagos State in the South West in pension payment, adding that the payment of 13th month salary to workers contributed to the high rate of the state’s expenses.
He assured that his administration placed emphasis on the welfare of its citizenries and was not ready to cut the salary of its workforce as being rumoured by some individuals in the state.
The governor urged workers in the employment of the state government to bear with the government, assuring that the situation would improve as the federal allocation improves.
BIOREPORTS