Civil servants in Ondo State are yet to receive their three months’ salaries, despite the receipt of the N14.686billion bailout fund from the Federal Government.
The non-payment led to Tuesday’s protest where aggrieved workers demanded the removal of the Accountant-General, Fredrick Ajibokun.
The workers accused Ajibokun of conniving with the government to delay their salaries.
But a government insider said the accountant general should not be blamed as he was only acting on instruction “from above”.
“Is it possible for the government to give an order and the accountant general, who is a mere civil servant, will say no? The workers’ leaders should direct their grievances to the right channel,” he said.
Also, one of Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s former political aides, who pleaded for anonymity, said the delay was caused by the fresh verification carried out by the government.
According to him, “the verification is to give those who did not participate in the previous exercise the opportunity to do it so that their names will not be deleted completely from the system.
“I can assure the workers that immediately after the verification, the workers will be paid. Even political aides are still being owed.”
The Joint Negotiating Council Chairman, Sunday Adeleye, said the workers were demanding the accountant general’s removal, adding that he connived with politicians to deny civil servants their right.
Adeleye explained that the government had accessed the bailout fund two weeks ago and had no excuse not to pay.
“Last week, the commissioner for Finance told me that he has directed the accountant general to pay workers.
“The bailout fund came to the government account two weeks ago, they should have directed the accountant general to effect our payment, they failed.
“I called the accountant general to confirm but he did not pick my call. Every effort we made to get his side proved abortive, which means something is wrong somewhere.
Spokesman of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Victor Omodara said the delay in the payment was caused by the Sallah break.
According to him, the union leaders met with the government where it was agreed that the July salary would be paid immediately. August was to be paid within the next 24 hours, but the arrangement failed because of the two-day holiday.