An Osun State based Civil Society Organization(CSO), the Civil
Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State(CSCEOS) has
cautioned the Federal Government of Nigeria and the both local and
international financial institutions to stop giving the loan to the
State government under the watch of Mr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola,
saying that all the loans being accrued to the State in the last
three(3) to four(4) years were mismanaged and misappropriated by
Governor Aregbesola which it was lead to the untold hardship on the
people of the State today.
It however declared that Mr. Rauf Aregbesola led present
administration in the State, had mortgaged the future of the State,
including generation yet unborn with the series of loans being
obtained on behalf of the State with nothing to show for it, insisting
that Aregbesola had embarked on policies and programmes somersaulting
which had no bearing on the lives of the people since inception of his
administration in November 2010.
The group equally condemned Mr. Aregbesola over the ongoing industrial
action embarked upon by the medical doctors under the aegis of
Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) and Osun State Association of
Medical and Dental Officers (OSAMDO) with their mother body, the
Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) for over six months now, which has
put the State health sector in jeopardy and comatose and the State
government had not shown any concern to the ugly development ,rather
than incessant purported mouth mass sack of the affected Medical
Doctors which was not acceptable to the people of the State.
Similarly, the group also submitted a Protest Letter dated 2nd of
March,2016 to the State House of Assembly through its Speaker,
Honourable Najeem Salaam on the unpleasant state of affairs of the
State under Aregbesola’s watch, where it alleged the members of the
Assembly for showing unconcern attitude towards the plight and welfare
of the people of the State they were claiming to be represented in
the law making arm of the State government.
According to the Letter: “Sir, it is no news that doctors in the
service of Osun state has been on strike since September 2015, which
makes it 7 months now, due to the inability of government to fulfill
her obligations towards them. The implication of this situation is
better imagined, and we believe your office should not find it
difficult confronting this issue headlong so as to bring a great
relief to the helpless, suffering and already impoverished people of
the state. We have severally refrained ourselves from concluding that
the house is in connivance with the executive arm of government to
maintain a criminal silence on this issue, but when we consider the
buoyancy of an average Nigerian politician, which makes it possible
for him to access healthcare anywhere in the world at whatever cost,
we might insinuate that you have kept quiet on this serious matter
because you might not be directly affected.
“Furthermore, the attempt of the government to raise the IGR of the
state, which has brought about a regime of unrealistic tax impositions
on the citizenry, is sending many people away from the State, while
others are developing serious health problems arising from fear,
unfortunately with no access to healthcare due to the doctor’s
strike”.
Addressing pressmen in Osogbo, the State Capital on Wednesday during
the 2nd Emancipation rally organized by the Civil Societies Coalition
for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) in support of striking
Medical Doctors, retirees and entire workforce in the State, the
leader of the group, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman berated
Aregbesola over the Medical doctors plight which has turned the health
sector of the into shamble, urged the governor to go and bring back
all the allocations being accrued to the State from the Federation
Account which was siphoned into private purse and also, the loan
being collected on behalf of the State that put the flourishing State
into perpetual debt slavery.
Rights activist implored Governor Aregbesola to answer the requests of
the striking doctors without further delaying so as to return the
health sector of the State back to normalcy in the interest of masses
of the State, noting that the planned agenda of the Aregbesola
led-government to replace the Medical Doctors with Herbalists and
Witch crafts was unacceptable and totally rejected by the good people
of the State.
The protesters comprises of human rights activists, workers, retirees,
artisans, market men and women, students among others; passed through
the heart of Osogbo, the State capital such as; Oja-Oba, Station road,
Idi-Seke, Orita-Gbaemu, Fagbewesa and Ola-Iya junction with solidarity
songs, as well as carried Placards with the inscriptions; “stop
threatening Osun Doctors with incessant purported mouth sack”,
“Aregbesola has destroyed health sector of Osun State beyond
redemption”, “President Muhammadu Buhari: Come and Save Osun People
from the hands of Rauf Aregbesola and his cohorts”, “CSCEOS backs Osun
Striking Doctors”, “Aregbesola: Pay Osun State Doctors their
entitlements”, “Aregbesola: Osun People reject commercialization of
education”, “Aregbesola: Osun workers reject half salaries” and so
on.
Sulaiman therefore called on Aregbesola to stop anti-workers agenda
such as; payment of half salaries, retrenchment of workers, request
for BVN and Statement of Account, among others, urging Aregbesola to
commence the full payment of workers’ salaries and retirees pension
dues as well as payment of gratuities of the State retirees from 2010
till date.
He said, the planned commercialization of the education across the
State by the present administration was totally rejected and sees the
development as anti-masses, undemocratic ,ungodly, evil and uncalled,
advising the Veteran Labour Leader and Chairman,Osun State Committee
of Government and Labour on Allocation Accrued to the State from
Federation Account and Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) , Comrade
Hassan Sunmonu, to resign from the committee in order to save his hard
earned reputation from being tarnished by Aregbesola’s administration
, alleging that the Committee was where the future of the good people,
including workers and retirees of the State were being mortgaged.
He therefore called on the anti-graft bodies, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices
and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to commence immediate
prosecution of Governor Rauf Aregbesola over alleged mismanagement of
public funds of the State resources.
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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