Osun State Government on Sunday said the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, ICPC, did not indict it over N34.988 billion bailout funds it got last year.
A statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, said ICPC’s disclosure that it was investigating claims that workers received their last salaries in July 2015 does not mean that the claim was true.
“This is because after the payment of seven months backlog of salaries last year, the government had proceeded to pay salaries on the agreed terms with workers,” it said.
“And this is why Osun has been able to pay its workers till January this year.
“There is no case of diversion of bailout loan as far as Osun is concerned,” Okanlawon added.
Osun state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, had stated that it had been vindicated by the ICPC report.
A statement by the Director of Media and Strategy Diran Odeyemi, noted that “ICPC had confirmed that Osun state governor got bail out cash from the federal government for the settlement of arrears of workers’ salaries and emoluments but diverted the funds for other purposes, thereby defeating the purpose of the government’s effort to provide succour for the workers.
“When we cried out that our governor had fixed the bailout, they called us liars, when we alerted that part of the fund was later used to pay a powerful contractor now in Buhari’s government, they denied it, what will the government say now that an independent government agency (ICPC) has confirmed and corroborated out claims, indeed, we have been vindicated”.
Quoting ICPC, PDP said “Osun State received N34.988.990.000.00 as bailout fund and disbursed N18.677.224.582.20, leaving a balance of N16.311,765.418 billion as at November 2015.”
PDP urged ICPC to verify Osun government’s claim that workers had been paid salaries up to Jan 2016.
“We are aware that Osun state workers have not been receiving full salaries since July 2015 and even at that, the state government is owing them four months salary”, the party stated.
