The Oyo State Government has disclosed that it has set aside an additional Two Hundred Million Naira (N200m) special grant on monthly basis to assist the State institutions in off-setting their outstanding arrears.
The Government said that the first instalment of the N200m Special Grant will take effect from March 2019 and will be paid alongside the March 2019 allocation, reiterating that the assistance covers 2016 and 2017 outstanding salaries while 2018 will be paid fully by each institution and some institutions had complied.
The State Head of Service (HoS), Mrs Olawumi Ogunesan stated that these were part of the decisions agreed on during the meeting of the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi with the Chairmen of Governing Councils and Heads of the Six Oyo State Owned tertiary Institutions held at the Governor’s Office on Monday in Ibadan.
Mrs. Ogunesan said that the government has agreed to assist in off-setting the outstanding salaries within the period of Thirty-two (32) months, adding “the state institutions including The Polytechnic Ibadan, Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo, The Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, The Oke – Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igbo-Ora and The College of Education, Lanlate are autonomous by Law establishing them.
“The Governing Council of each institution is responsible for payment of salaries and allowances as entrenched in its laws. The government, therefore, is committed to the provision of assistance to each institution. Consequent upon submission of Reports by KPMG Advisory Services on Financial Sustainability Review of each Institution, the Chairmen of Governing Councils of the Institutions pleaded with Government to assist in defraying the backlog of salaries arrears owed by each institution up till December 2017.
“Acceding to the request, Government resolved to assist the institutions to defray the backlog of salary arrears up to December 2017 to ensure the fiscal sustainability of each institution. The government however directed that the wage bills of all the institutions are audited and the audit report presented ahead of any assistance.
“The government has verified and confirmed the total salary indebtedness to the six State-Owned Tertiary institutions totalling N6.8b representing the outstanding salary spanning January 2016 to December 2017. The government decided that due to the paucity of funds, it shall set aside an additional sum of N200m Special Grant on a monthly basis to assist the institutions in off-setting the outstanding arrears.” Mrs Ogunesan explained.
She noted that the outstanding of N4bn for LAUTECH, Ogbomoso presented at the meeting would be treated separately, noting that another meeting would be held within the next 14 days between Oyo and Osun States to work out modalities of settling the outstanding arrears.
