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PDP condemns Aregbesola’s order for 50 percent staff cut, stoppage of fresh admissions to colleges
Osun state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the state government of ordering the retrenchment of 50% of the present workforce in its four tertiary institutions as the government is determined not to use the N35billion bailout it collected from the CBN for settlement of unpaid wages.
This was contained in a Press statement issued on Monday by the party’s Director of Media and Strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi.
The order for mass retrenchment, the party said has already been given by Aregbesola to the governing councils of the institutions and will affect both academic and non academic workers in Osun state Polytechnic, Iree and Osun state College of Technology, Esa-Oke.
According to the party, the staffers of other institutions that will be affected by the workforce downsizing are those in Osun state College of Education in Ila and Ilesa.
Prince Diran Odeyemi, added: “we have also been informed that the administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola has embargoed admission of all categories of fresh students into all the listed institutions indefinitely preparatory to the merger of the schools for yet undisclosed reasons.”
While the party condemned the move to retrench the tertiary institutions’ staffers, it said “such move will not only further destabilize the state’s education sector, just as the closure of all the four institutions to academic activities in the last 9 months has been traumatic for both the students and their parents”
“Adding mass sack of both academic and non academic staff of these institutions to already terrible academic situation in our tertiary institutions which came 24th in the last WAEC despite N9.8billion spent on “opon Imo” will be the clincher to kill off the future of youths in Osun state.
“We back the move by the striking staffers of these institutions to resist dictatorial tendencies of the fast sinking present administration in the state and get their dues before darkness finally gives way to light. We however plead with Ogbeni ( formerly Engineer) Rauf Aregbesola to think of the implications of having students out of classes for one full academic session on the future of the state and have a rethink.”
The opposition party also decried government’s refusal to adhere to the dictate of the MoU it signed with the organised Labour in the state on how outstanding salaries owed workers should be paid from the N35billion bailout , adding that till date, workers across all the sectors are yet to receive full payment of at least five months salaries.
“The good people of Osun state are embarrassed that despite not paying the workers, Ogbeni has been claiming they have all been paid. We urge him to desist from acts capable of aggravating crises in the state and we advise President Buhari to show interest in these matters and come to the rescue of Osun people before the situation gets messier”, the party concluded.
In a related development the partt 
yesterday commiserated with the family of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and African Newspapers of Nigeria, ANN, the publisher of Tribune titles, on the death of matriarch of Awolowo Dynasty, Chief (Mrs.) Hannah Dideolu Awolowo.
Late Mrs. Awolowo died in her Ikenne country home on Saturday at the ripe age of 99 years.
In a statement issued in Osogbo by Osun PDP director of media and strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, the party said late Hannah Awolowo, at the glorious reunion with her husband would have message for the late sage about how his goodwill was commercialized and leveraged upon by certain individuals to deceive electorates.
The statement reads: “The death of Mama H.I.D Awolowo marked end of era of total commitment to service for the public good by the couple that, even years after quitting public service, still enjoyed incredible goodwill that has eventually been leveraged on by many self-acclaimed Awoist to curry public good.
“Mama represented the strength of African woman in supporting worthy cause for the benefit of mankind and the successes his spouse, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo recorded in all endeavours should not have been in the first place, had the homestead not been made stable by Mama.”
The party however hoped the death of late Hannah Awolowo would further unite the progressives in further fulfilment of a postulation by late Obafemi Awolowo that forces from left and right would meet at the center to fight a common cause and give the people sincere leadership.
