24th June, 2021
The government of Osun State led by Gboyega Oyetola has debunked rumours making the rounds that it withheld the severance package of some former political office holders in Councils to punish them.
The Osun government had recently announced the release of a severance package to former elected officers in local government councils, whose tenure ended February 5, 2021.
However, rumours emerged following the payment, that the payment of some officers was withheld because of their loyalty to a former governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
However, the Oyetola-led administration has debunked such reports.
A statement signed by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Adeleke Yekeen Adebayo, described the insinuation as a deliberate conjecture meant to mislead the public on activities of the government.
“It is correct that the severance packages of some political office holders in councils were withheld until they get clearance from the Ministry of Local Government based on the fact that there were issues they needed to clarify on their spending while they were serving.
“Such issues vary from council to council and I don’t think that should generate problems, because some officers have shown up and have been cleared. Some were asked to wait until the allegations against them are proven either correct or wrong.
“I believe those who do not have anything to fear or hide should be bold enough to show up and state their cases, rather than attaching political colourations to it.
“So, the case at hand has nothing to do with Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola or Governor Gboyega Oyetola. It is purely the policies that we have set out in the ministry that must be complied with. Attaching it to Aregbesola’s loyalists is deceptive, mischievous and deliberately designed to score cheap political points and gain undeserved sympathy”, the statement read in part.