Non-payment of workers’ salary can trigger insecurity – Experts

A security expert, Mr. Lekan Jackson-
Ojo, has said that the failure of Osun
State Governor, Mr. Rauf
Aregbesola, to pay workers in the
last five months could trigger
insecurity and other forms of
crimes in the state.
Jackson-Ojo told our correspondent
in Osogbo on Friday that it was
criminal to leave workers’ salaries
unpaid while the governor was
funding campaigns of his party’s
candidates.
Workers under the aegis of the
Trade Union Congress, led by their
chairman, Mr. Olatunji Akinyemi,
had protested alleged non-
payment of five months salaries
earlier in the week.
Jackson-Ojo said workers might
engage in corrupt practices while
traders and artisans might be lured
into crimes if they did not enjoy
patronage from civil servants who
had not been paid.
“Aregbesola should pay workers; it
is their rights to be paid. He should
not allow them to be protesting
before paying them. It is unfair,” he
said.
The governor had since appealed
to the workers to be calm, while
promising that their salaries would
be paid soon.
The media aide to the governor, Mr.
Semiu Okanlawon, in a statement
made available to our
correspondent, blamed the
development on economic crisis in
the country.
“While we recognise the right of
the workers to seek payment of
that which is legitimately theirs,
we wish to repeat for the umpteen
time that the unfortunate owing of
salaries running to about three
months cannot be divorced from
the crushing revenue crisis that has
hit Nigeria as a whole,” the
governor said.