The Committee of Unions in Tertiary Institutions in Kwara State has blasted the immediate past Governor of the state, Alh Abdulfatah Ahmed over the claim that his administration did not own any worker salaries before he left office last year’s May.
Ahmed, in a statement earlier on Tuesday through his media aide, Dr Muideen Akorede, said he paid monthly salaries of all the workers in the State till the last month he left office.
However, in a statement released on Tuesday in Ilorin by the chairman of the group, Comrade Imam Abdulkadir, the committee described the claim by Ahmed as false and misleading, stating that the immediate past administration owed workers in tertiary institutions seven months salaries running into seven hundred and fifty million naira.
“The attention of Committee of Unions in Tertiary Institutions ( CUTI) has been drawn to the claim by former Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed through his media aide that the immediate past administration was up to date in payment of state civil servants salary before he left office particularly the state owned Tertiary Institutions.
“To this end the Unions wish to reiterate that the claims by the former Governor Ahmed through his aide Dr. Muhideen Akorede was false and misleading. The state owned tertiary institutions were owed seven months’ salaries to the tune of seven hundred and fifty million naira. Equally, the policy of the immediate past administration to commercialize education in the state impacted negatively on both the staff and students of the institutions.
“It would be recalled that failure of the immediate past administration to pay salaries of the state Colleges of Education and CAILS led to the industrial action embarked upon by the institutions three months to the expiration of the Governor Ahmed’s administration.
“Despite the industrial disharmony between the Unions and the then government, the said 7 months subventions and accreditation funds were not release to the Colleges until Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq assumed office.
“It is noteworthy to say that Governor Abdulrazaq as at September, 2019 completed the payment of all outstanding salary arrears owed the Colleges by the immediate past administration.
“Similarly, Governor Abdulrazaq has presently released accreditation funds to all the state owned tertiary institutions. It is equal of note to state that His Excellency has also absorbed staffers of Demonstration schools of the Colleges who are owed 37 month salaries by the immediate past administration in the state.
“The general public should consider the claim by the former Governor as not only misleading but false.”
Governor AbdulRazaq had during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday highlighted all the challenges he met in the state when he took over last May.