Unpaid salaries: Aregbesola risks impeachment

By   OLUSESAN LAOYE

Embattled Governor of Osun State, RaufAregbesola is in the eye of the storm as a state high court Judge calls for his impeachment over allegations of mismanagement of the  state’s resources.  OLUSESAN LAOYE reports

The petition calling for the impeachment of Governor RaufAregbesola of Osun State and his deputy, TitiLaoyeTomori has taken a new dimension. The petition was written by a state high court Judge, Justice OlamideFolahanmiOloyede who stated that the governor and his deputy be impeached for their failure to pay workers salary, particularly her own for eight months. In the petition which was copied to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the United Nations office of the Drugs and Crime, claimed that Aregbesola and his deputy has no moral justification to continue in office for not paying even pensioners emoluments but they kept enjoying their own security  allowances.

She said that she was relying on section 129 of 1999 constitution for the state Assembly to act upon. He said that there was no justification on the claim by Aregbssola that he wage bill of Osun could not have been what the governor presented, adding that there was no justification for it and that the governor had admitted at different forum that the wage bill of government workers in the state was N4 billion.

Justice Oloyede did not stop at that as she pointed out that she took that action to take away the reproach of Osun State for being a bankrupt and a failed state which is sinking. According to her the action represented the feeling of other thousands of workers in the state as she said that Aregbesola was not sincere to have said that he could only pay workers salary through the statutory allocation. This to her is faulty.

As the controversy over the judge\s petition to the state Assembly rages on, the political class in Osun State has now taken over the issue. What was meant to be a personal thing from the judge has now turned out to be a political issue which is now generating a serious argument in the state especially between the APC and PDP. Right now the APC is accusing the PDP of being behind the move, while the PDP has continued to back Justice Oloyede on her action. The PDP believed that the woman was right to have called for the impeachment over failure to pay workers salaries.

But the APC felt that the PDP was using her because that was not expected of a serving judge in the state, who should have known better. What is also bothering the APC is the criminal aspect of the petition and the way she copied the various agencies which has nothing to do with the matter.

Osun State chapter of PDP has lauded the Osun State House of Assembly for commencing impeachment process against the embattled Governor Aregbesola, while warning the lawmakers of consequences of succumbing to the pressure coming from the failed administration.

‎The publicity secretary of the PDP, Mr. Bola Ajao at the weekend in Osogbo said “history and posterity will not forgive the lawmakers if they allowed the fading administration of Aregbesola to scuttle the impeachment process on the altar of political exigency and partisan conspiracy.

The PDP said it had received information from very credible persons within and outside government circle of a deal the clueless Aregbesola administration already had with the APC-controlled Assembly to sweep under the carpet, the issues of financial recklessness and others raised by Justice Oloyede against the governor.

Ajao argued that their concern and involvement is beyond playing the traditional role of opposition party. It is about the people of Osun State. It is about able-bodied men and women who are supposedly gainfully-employed but are now refugees in their own land, living on handouts from compassionate religious and corporate bodies.”

“It is about the present and future of the state. It is about generations unborn and questions that would be asked us if we don’t act collectively now. Even members of Governor Aregbesola’s party know that he spoke from his heart when he said he was clueless about how to rescue the state from imminent doom.

“We are aware of the tremendous pressure being brought upon the lawmakers by the insensitive leaders and chieftains of the APC within and outside of the state, but the lawmakers owe posterity and their generations unborn this moment of history, to offer the state the last straw before it would collapse irretrievably,” he added.

While hailing the lawmakers for showing signs they could put political affiliations aside to be true statesmen, he disclosed that every step of the impeachment process and procedure would be monitored by the traumatized people of the state, until the governor is sent back to where he came from..

“We want to commend the lawmakers for commencing the process of impeaching Governor Aregbesola in order to save the state. The only honourable way out is for him to be shown the way out. The lawmakers would be writing their names in gold, irrespective of party affiliations if they take the lead in rescuing their constituents from penury and impending economic catastrophe.

The PDP also pointed out that “We have it on good authority that a deal had been reached between Governor Aregbesola and the leadership of the Assembly to kill the impeachment process by referring his response to Justice Oloyede’s petition to a Kangaroo committee of the Assembly that would rule that the governor has no case to answer on the weighty allegations raised by the petitioner. This is completely unacceptable to the traumatized people of the state and such shenanigan will be fiercely resisted. We call on the people of the state to be on the red alert.”

The Osun PDP also castigated President MuhammaduBuhari for not showing adequate leadership in his party. Ajao warned that any attempt to harass Justice Oloyede would throw the state into confusion; the people of the state would not also hesitate to rally to her defence.

The Director of publicity and strategy of the APC, Barr KunleOyatomi told Hallmark that there was no justification for the Judge’s petition and the purported backing being giving to her by the PDP.  He pointed out that the PDP reacted out of ignorance to have concluded that the letter to send to the Chief Judge of the state to investigate was a move by the House to impeach the governor.

Hallmark was informed that right now the paramount ruler of Ijesha land, Oba AdekunleAromolaran has waded into the matter. The late father of the Judge was a prominent and highly respected Chief of Ijesha land and it was said that she should not have been the person to put the Governor into such ridicule. The father of Justice Oloyede was also a prominent lawyer in the country especially in the South West.

Although it was being rumoured that the state House of Assembly has commenced impeachment process against the governor and his deputy, Hallmark was reliably informed that what actually happened was that the speaker of the House of Assembly only forwarded Justice Olorode’s petition to the Chief Judge of the state for investigation and to ascertain whether she was actually the author of the petition.

The speaker, Hon Najeem Salam had sent the letter to the Chief Judge, Justice AdepeleOjo but it was not clear at the weekend whether the judge has written Justice Oloyede or not before further steps would be taken.

As the Assembly also called on the governor to defend the petition, other bodies have joined the fight. The Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice, CHRSJ, has condemned the Osun State Governor over the unpaid workers’ salaries saying that they do not have constitutional justification to continue in office.

The spokesperson of the human rights group, Comrade AlimiSulaiman, said that after submitting the three pages letter which contained the fourteen impeachable offences of Governor Aregbesola and his deputy, since they came to power on November 27th, 2015 at the Assembly complex they were convinced that the governor and deputy have contravened some sections of the constitutional provision in the last four and half years of their government which called for their immediate impeachment.‎

The rights group also thrown its weight behind the position of Justice Olorode calling on the Assembly to investigate the alleged mismanagement of the state’s financial resources leveled against Governor Aregbesola’s administration. The group also called on the police to give the judge adequate protection to prevent her from being attacked, alleging that Aregbesola and his cronies might make attempt on her life if care was not taken.