Workers in the employ of Osun State government have started to groan over the non-payment of about six months salaries being owed them by Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration, Nigerian Tribune investigation has revealed.

Some of the civil servants who spoke with our correspondent lamented that the failure of the government to pay their outstanding salaries had subjected them to serious economic hardships.

Aside the alleged nonpayment of six months salaries, the aggrieved workers also lamented the government’s refusal to remit pension deducted from their previous salaries to various retirement savings accounts.

A civil servant in one of the ministries at the state secretariat, Abeere, said, “it has been very difficult to survive without salary for months. We cannot even afford to pay the school fees of children in private schools, while we also trek to the office sometimes.”

Speaking on the development, the state chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Osun State chapter, Comrade Francis Oladele Adetunji, called on the government to find prompt solution to the salary issue in the state.

He stated: “You can’t imagine what the workers are going through in this state. Life has become miserable for many of us. It is imperative for the state governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, to find means of paying the salaries of workers as soon as possible to put an end to the suffering of the people.”

When contacted, the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy to Governor Aregbesola, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, said the state government was concerned about the plight of workers, assuring that the government would pay the outstanding salaries as soon as its finances improves.

According to him, “the state government is working round the clock to ensure the fulfilment of its obligation to the workers and prompt payment of salaries. The financial crisis in the country is no longer news. Even the workers have met with the governor on the dwindling allocation from the Federation Account to work out alternatives, capable of shoring up the state revenue.”

“The administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola deserves commendation for sustaining Osun till now. This state is the second to the last on the allocation ladder or the last, considering its monthly allocation. But, despite that, we have successfully managed the economy of the state and the government would not rest on its oars to promote the welfare of its workforce,” Okanlawon remarked.