Posted on: 03:14 Mon, 15 Feb 2016



Government workers in Ekiti State who embark
on strike without first exhausting channels of
negotiation would henceforth forfeit their
salaries during such industrial action, Governor
Ayo Fayose has warned.

Fayose gave the warning yesterday evening in
Ado Ekiti, the state capital while appearing on
his monthly media chat, ‘Meet Your Governor’.

He also denied awarding contracts for the
construction of Erekesan Market, Airport and
flyover to his children, family members and
cronies.

The governor’s latest hard-liner was coming on
the heels of a two-day warning strike by primary
school teachers in the state last week to protest
non-payment of September 2014 salaries and
2014 leave bonus.

Speaking tough, Fayose said the state would
henceforth divert salaries of striking workers to
those ready to show concerns and understanding
with the parlous economic situation of the state.

He said: “Since I came back, Ekiti is financially
challenged. I have not hidden the financial
position of the state from workers, particularly
the teachers, because they are the set of people
I have shown so much love for.

“I celebrate them on annual basis. Even during
my first term, people called me Teachers’
Governor due to my love for them.

“But the strike they embarked on recently could
have been resolved without any crisis if we had
dialogued”.

According to him, the respect he showed the
teachers was not reciprocated, adding that every
worker in the state knows how much Ekiti
receives as monthly federal allocation because
he lays it bare for them to see.

“We should also know that the people who are
not salary earners must be taken care of. We
can’t be paying salary and neglect other people
from having access to facilities like good roads,
good water supply and this market I just flagged.

“So, I enjoin the workers to show some level of
understanding that we have to balance the two, I
mean paying salary as the money comes and
also help the masses as well.

“There is nowhere in the world where the entire
budgetary provision will be centre around
recurrent expenditure”, Gov. Fayose.

On his recent visit to Governor Rauf Aregbesola
of Osun State, Fayose said: “Governor
Aregbesola is my very good friend. It is only in
Nigeria where two friends in different political
parties won’t be free to greet each other.
“My visit to governor Aregbesola is in Yoruba’s
interest.

“We have to forget about our political differences
and build Yoruba into a huge political force in
Nigeria”.