Oyetola Converted Osun Job Centre To A Campaign Office – Adeleke
After ignoring calls and messages from OSUN DEFENDER on the status of the facility last week, the Osun State Government on Sunday denied shutting down the Osun Job Centre.
This government also noted that it did not inherit the said Job Centre nor witheld 12 month salaries of staff.
OSUN DEFENDER had on Friday exclusively reported that the job centre located opposite Ayegbaju International Market, Osogbo, had been inactive for 10 months before it was put under lock and key in October, 2023, while staffers of the facility claim to be owed salaries for over 12 months.
Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi who alongside the state Head of Service, Mr. Ayanleye Aina, who was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Capacity Building when the Job Centre was created, did not respond to calls/messages put to their lines last week said that although the Job Centre had been in existence since 2016, but former governor Gboyega Oyetola upon assumption of office converted it into a campaign office.
The statement also added that those working at the centre are mostly political activists and contract staff who were engaged without compliance with public service regulations, hence, it owed them no salary obligations nor withheld their payments. But the few civil servants within the centre were redeployed.
According to the statement, “Governor Adeleke did not inherit any purported Osun Job Centre from the immediate past administration and under this workers friendly government, no salary of any civil servants had been withheld.
“Members of the public should be informed that the said Job Centre was created in 2016 but former Governor Oyetola on assumption of office in 2018 tactically shut it down and allocated the complex to Bosun Oyintiloye who used it for Civic Engagement.
“Records showed that throughout the period 2018 to 2022, the said centre was not funded and at a point, the rented apartment became the campaign office for the former Gvernor.
“Official records also showed that those engaged at the centre are contract staff who were engaged without compliance with public service regulations and who were mostly political activists.The few civil servants within the center were also redeployed.
“The Oyetola administration used the Centre as annexure of Ministry of Information to placate Mr Oyintiloye, who by then was Special Adviser to Oyetola on Civic Engagement in the Ministry of Information and Civic Engagement. The place was a political campaign ground all through the tenure of the last administration.”
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
