I owe TASCE no Kobo – Amosun

Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state has declared that his administration is not owing the staff of Tai Solarin College of Education a dime, saying the debt on ground was owed by the past administration.

Amosun revealed that since he came on board he has been paying all salary as at and when due, adding that, the arrears being demanded for by the staff of the institution were owed by the past administration under Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

It would be recalled that all the three unions in the College has in the last three days embarked on a strike action, calling on the government to pay them the 48 months arrears owed them.

The governor in response to their agitation today during his address at the local government assessment tour of Ijebu Ode local government promised to look into their plight and warned that standing by the road side is not a good way to press home their demands.

According to the governor, “when I was coming today, I saw all the placards with inscriptions that read: “Amosun pay us this, Amosun pay us that’. I will ask them to invite you so that we will fine-tune everything. Let me say this, we are responsible to the people, when we came in and as we speak now, we do not owe the people
of either TASCE or any other person. Before we resumed office, salaries were owed, not only TASCE that was owed. Since I have been governor, I have spent about N2.4billion to TASCE alone.

“If you are rallying round to say that you have been owed and that we should pay, the best way to do it is not by standing by the road, it will not help us. I can’t come here and lie that all the money that is being owed, that we will pay, we will begin to pay them gradually. I cannot pay my own salary and be paying the backlogs owed by someone else.

“I was even being told that something was signed in 2009, like I said, there is no opportunity to respond, and that is not the intention. Everybody have been calling me and I told them, we are not owing them, if they said they have issue with the last month salary, we would find out and I have been told that they are paying with three different banks, we have resolved it and their money has been paid.We do not intend to owe anybody and we will not owe. They are begging and pleading, all those that have been owed before we came, we have been paying them gradually. There is no way we would finish paying what somebody left immediately. No, it will collapse the
government, and that is the problem we are having now,” Amosun explained.

The governor however disclosed that the past administration has been the cause of the present predicaments facing by his government, agreed that government comes in and out, whatever accrued as either assets or liabilities by the past administration will be inherited by the incumbent.

“Truly, TASCE staff are owed monies before we came and when we came, they told us that they have signed to be paid N45, 800, 000 (Forty-eight million, eight hundred thousand naira), with someone that was unable to pay that money and now promised to double the money for them. When we came, we continued paying that amount, we don’t owe any amount till date.

“In 2013, they came to tell me that they have signed agreement with them that they will increase their money, they complained to me about their plight with movement to Omu and what they have lost from their original place, Ijagun where TASUED is now. I told them that we would do something and since then, we increased the money to N85, 500, 000 (Eighty-five million five hundred thousand naira) and we have been paying.

“The money has been owed since 2009 and by the grace of God, I will start paying them,” Amosun concluded.

Among the dignitaries at the event were the Awujale and Paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, Ogbagba II who led other monarchs numbering about 30 to the gathering. Religious and traditional rulers, artisans, students, transport unions, Chief Bisi Rodipe, Asiwaju Olajide Awosedo and physically challenged people who trooped out en masse to give the governor a rousing welcome to Ijebu Ode, the headquarters of Ijebuland and political headquarters of Ogun East Senatorial District of the State.

Highlight of the tour was the visitation to the model school in the local government which is located at Oke Ako in the district of the local government area.