The Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday met with Ekiti teachers to resolve differences surrounding the non-payment of salaries and allowances due to them.
The atmosphere was charged as the Governor met with teachers from all public primary and secondary schools in the state within the premises of the Government House in Ado Ekiti.
In spite of the initial confrontation and display of anger occasioned by non-payment of five months salaries, which had unleashed hardship on the workers, Fayose was able to reach a compromise on how all the benefits will be paid in due course to the teachers.
Articulating all the problems confronting the teachers, Mrs E.A. Olaoye and Mr Adetunji Akinyemi, spoke on behalf of the public primary and secondary school teachers respectively.
Part of their demands were: “Payment of March-July 2016 salaries, Payment of 2014 September salary to primary school teachers, recognition of degree holders in primary schools, promotion of teachers beginning from 2010, 2016 salary increase, Core Subjects Allowance for primary school teachers.”
Others include: “stoppage of deductions on loan repayment and other sources, over-deduction of salaries of members from Accountant General’s office, Payment of duty post Allowance, payment of Leave Bonus for 2016, stoppage of arbitrary cooperative deductions, advocacy for robust car and Housing loans, renovation of schools and effective inter-cadre policy for teachers.”
The teachers said they were not oblivious of the financial difficulty being experienced across the 36 states of the federation, reiterating that they must be given adequate recognition within the limit of the revenues accruing to the state.
Fayose, who interjected intermittently to douse the raging tension caused by open anger among the teachers, thanked the workers for their understanding, saying he knew the level of suffering that had pervaded the state and that he was devising ways to resolve them.
He constituted a committee headed by the Permanent Secretaries in the Teaching Service Commission and the State Universal Basic Education Board to interface with teachers who have problems about arbitrary deductions under whatever guise.
He said the committee will commence work on Monday, August 8, 2016, urging those affected to file all relevance evidence to support their cases.
Fayose said: “Teachers you know I am for you in and out of government. The poor economic situation caused all these problems. You know that I will not deliberately make you to suffer . I share your pain and I will never take you for granted.
“But let it be noted that I can only do my best within the availability of money accruing to the state. This problem is not peculiar to Ekiti alone. That was why I have always been saying that it is not good for any administration to borrow money beyond its tenure.
“The challenges we are facing today was caused by the loans borrowed under the immediate past government.
“Let me make it very clear to you that Nigeria has entered full recession. Though, the government has been covering this but it has blown open now.
“The September 2014 outstanding salary owed the primary school teachers was supposed to come under bailout, but sadly we could not secure bailout for the local government , because teachers at that level got their money from Joint Allocation Committee (JAAC).”
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