- State targets 2m agric jobs, food security
By Ayo Bada
Senior Correspondent
Political office holders in Oyo State are to receive 50 per cent cut in salary,compensation, approval limits, and government spending.
Secretary to the State Government (SSG), OlalekanAlli, said the decision was taken by the State Executive Council (SEC) to shore up revenue depleted by reduced federal allocation.
The state has been spending its monthly allocation from the federation account on payment of workers’ salary which stands at N5.2 billion per month.
Alli reiterated that the state government has not reneged on its agreement with labour unions.
He explained that “the resources of government in the state have dwindled as a result of the economic downturn. In July, the state’s monthly allocation was N4 billion, N3.8 billion in August, N3.5 billion in September, and N2.8 billion in October.
“Considering the dwindling allocation, the best is for state governments to look inward. This is why we are slashing the salaries of all political office holders.”
He said monthly internally generated revenue (IGR) is still between N1 billion andN1.5 billion and collection verification is being restructured to block loopholes that waste resources.
The biometric verification number (BVN) exercise in the state has revealed ghost workers drawing multiple salaries.
“We have discovered 500 people who did not come for the verification exercise to unravel their true identity,”Alli confirmed.
He said thestate agriculture initiative targets two million jobs as well as food security, and work has reached advance stage on the 10,000 metric tonne silos being constructed in the three senatorial districts in the state.