PDP Condemns Kwara Governor for Abrupt Stoppage of Workers' Palliatives

..Insists Abdulrahman inherited over N10bn in 2019

The Kwara state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) has criticised Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq over his failure to pay workers their meagre ten thousand naira transport palliatives as he earlier promised to do the first week of December, which translated to the abrupt termination of the palliatives, describing the APC led administration as lacking in integrity.

The PDP in a statement by the state Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara (Sholyments), described such an act as gross insensitivity to the plight of the workers who have been overstretched by the current economic crisis occasioned by the maladministration of the APC-led Federal and State governments.

The Party urged Kwarans never to trust Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq who had on multiple occasions deceived and pretended to care for the “Mekunu” but ended up inflicting more injuries and pains on the same “Mekunu” with his suffocating tax policies which in return are being used to services Governor’s appetite for greed and frivolity.

The Party added that it was a sheer lack of integrity to deceive the people of Kwara, particularly the suffering workers who first raised the alarm of this palliative stoppage with a mouth-watering press release by the Governor who assured workers that aside from the palliatives, other nonfinancial benefits would be available for workers within the first week of December. The Party reminds the government that the first week of December had terminated since Friday, the 8th Day of December and no worker has received any palliative let alone other benefit yet. This is an attestation that Governor Abdulrahman, who could not honour his word lacks the basic integrity required of any reasonable leader.

The PDP said the governor had been playing games with the intelligence of the Kwara people since the assumption of office in his programme implementation policy.

“We knew from the onset that Governor Abdulrahman and his party have no programme that could lift Kwara people out of poverty, let alone any programme that could motivate and engineer our workers to do better.

This is the Governor who deceived the workers and the general public that he would increase workers’ salaries and ensure Kwara state civil servants earn more than surrounding states like Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Kogi, etc during their Otoge crusade in 2019, after assuming office, the Governor has always claimed he carries workers along in the issues relating to the state finances and run his government on “MEKUNU”, (poor man) agenda yet, he has not been able to implement a full minimum wage for Kwara workers up till date despite fat undisclosed monthly allocations coming to the state since 2019.

Kwarans would also not forget that more than N10bn of naira was left in the coffer and handed over to Abdulrahman in May 2019 by the PDP, this was confirmed by EFCC zonal director who announced to the world that the agency prevented Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed Government from using N10bn that arrived the state at the twilight of the handing over.

This N10bn which was a proceed of FAAC and Tax refund from FG was targeted at offsetting LG, pensioners salary arrears, and other obligations but was illegally frozen and handed over to Abdulrahman. How the N10bn vanished from the coffer without settling salaries arrears and gratuities remains inexplicable by the AA government.

“Our Party can only sympathise with Kwara workers, pensioners, market women, and school children who are now paying huge taxes and urge them to keep praying for divine intervention to deliver them from Abdulrahman’s heavy yoke,”

The party urges Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to disclose the total allocation received from January 2023 and how many grants are coming to the state to know why workers’ Palliative which is expected to be upgraded will be stopped abruptly.