The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the state government’s recent approval of ₦8.1 billion for the payment of retirees’ gratuities as face-saving.
The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Adewara, said the governor’s approval was a “reactionary move borne out of guilt and public pressure following the sermon of Bishop Isreal Amao at the All Saints Anglican Church, Oke-Onigbin, during a funeral service in honour of the late Chief Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo.”
According to Adewara, “The government’s hurried approval of ₦8.1 billion for the payment of retirees’ gratuities is a forced and belated admission of guilt by an administration that thrives on propaganda and intolerance.
“It is rather shameful that a government which only a few days ago mobilised its appointees, agencies, online hirelings, including the governor’s CPS, to insult and discredit a respected man of God for daring to speak the truth about the plight of pensioners and the deplorable state of rural roads in Kwara South is now hurriedly rolling out ₦8.1 billion to the pensioners.
“This government’s decision proves beyond reasonable doubt that Bishop Amao was speaking the undeniable truth,” the PDP said.
The party, however, recalled that the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mallam Rafiu Ajakaye, the SSAs, the Isin Local Government Authority; the House of Assembly member representing Isin Constituency, and the State Pension Board released official statements attacking Bishop Amao, dismissing his sermon, and branding him a liar and doing former governor Bukola Saraki’s bidding.
“Today, the truth has triumphed. If there was no outstanding gratuity debt, why is the government suddenly releasing ₦8.1 billion? If the government was paying as and when due, where were the arrears of ₦8.1 billion generated from? If there’s not enough money, where did they get the sudden ₦8.1 billion?” the PDP queried.
Kwara PDP maintained that the attacks on Bishop Amao were not just political but a direct attack on the Christian community and the tradition of the Church as the voice of the voiceless.
“We therefore call on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, his appointed Council Chairman in Isin, the House of Assembly member, and every government institution that participated in the social media attacks to publicly apologise to Most Rev. Israel Amao, the Anglican Church, and the entire Christian community for their act of political intolerance, propaganda, and reckless disrespect for the people.
“The PDP congratulates pensioners and the ordinary Kwarans whose suffering the government attempts to hide, and all people of faith who dare to speak truth to power. This ₦8.1 billion is not a favour; it is a debt owed, and its release is a victory for the truth,” it stressed.
