Oyo : Govt Plans Clampdown on Local Govt Unionists
Oyo : Govt Plans Clampdown on Local Govt Unionists .
Workers in the local government service of Oyo State are threatening a showdown with the state government over what they described as forceful transfer of three of their senior members out of the system for their refusal to step down for the government’s anointed candidate in the forthcoming state local government union election.
This news paper reliably gathered that the aggrieved workers have vowed to resist the perceived intimidation, high handedness and arm twisting by the state government on what should be a strictly union affair.
It was gathered over the weekend that the three affected officers Comrades HOD Oyewo, Abass Bogumbe and Romoke Opabunmi who are top contenders for the position of the President of the National union of local government employees (NULGE) Oyo State chapter have all been penciled down for immediate transfer out of the local government system to shut the door against their ambitions and make the government’s anointed candidate, Comrade Ayo Adeogun clinch the seat effortlessly.
It was also reliably gathered that the script to install Comrade Ayo Adeogun at all cost was being acted out by the duo of Mr. Akin Funmilayo the permanent secretary, Oyo State local government service commission and Comrade Titilola Sodo the immediate past president of Oyo NULGE and current chairman of the Nigerian labour Congress Oyo State branch who are widely known in the state as foot soldiers of Oyo State Governor Engr. Seyi Makinde.
Their game plan according to sources within the Oyo State local government workers is to ease the three other contenders out of the way with this transfer out of the local government service for Ayo Adeogun the government’s anointed candidate to emerge unopposed.
According to this newspaper sources , the letters of transfer of the three affected senior officers had reached the local government service commission as at last week Friday and to be delivered to them today, Monday 20th July.
Many of the workers who are sympathetic to the raw deal been meted out to these three affected senior officers have vowed to make the local government system in the state resist the attempted imposition by the state government.
The struggle for the leadership of Oyo State NULGE had been on since last year with all attempts by Oyo State Governor Engr. Seyi Makinde to install his preferred candidate meeting brick walls and pressing further to realize this dream.
Allegedly , both Mr Akin funmilayo and Comrade Titilola Sodo had mounted immense pressure on the three affected officers to relinquish their ambitions for the governor’s anointed candidate and even threatened sanctions if they refuse but all did not yield the desired result.
Investigations also revealed that these three officers and some of their supporters had once been redeployed to the office of the head of service of the state and made to resume and close for work under the tree in front of the head of service’s office for weeks all in an attempt to make them surrender their ambitions.
Sources within the Oyo State local government system revealed that Comrade Titilola Sodo who was promoted to the position of the permanent secretary few days ago by Engr Seyi Makinde’s government and due for retirement from service in September had boasted that he would do all to install the governor’s candidate .
