By Jubril Bada
|
Civil servants in Ondo State, on Wednesday went into jubilation, in Akure, the state capital, after receiving their 2017 leave bonus allowances.

Workers, in different groups at the government ministries, departments and agencies, trooped out of their various offices, displaying their mobile phones in their hands to assure themselves, that indeed, they had received the bank alerts, of the leave bonus paid by the state government.

The workers, who could not hide their joy, with smiles written allover their faces chorused, “O ti wole o” (meaning it has entered).

Coincidentally, The Hope Metro which was on ground, at a particular ministry, observed that shortly after the receipts of the alerts around 2:25p.m, some of the workers left their offices to withdraw their long awaited allowances.

Speaking with The Hope Metro, an Information Officer at the Ministry of Information, Mrs. Adeola Adeniyi, commended Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, for the payment of the leave bonus of workers for the year 2017.

Adeniyi said the payment of the leave bonus was a clear proof that the state governor did not walk out on the members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, during a recent meeting held with the governor over the payment of leave bonus as claimed by the members of the union.

Her words, ” The governor has just paid the leave bonus for 2017. We are glad and we appreciate him for the gesture.

“This is a proof that the governor did not walk out on the members of NLC in a meeting over the plan of the state government to pay leave bonus of workers in the state with Paris Club Fund.

“People who believed he would not pay can now see that he has paid to prove them wrong.”

Also speaking, an Information Officer in the Ministry, Mrs. Kemi Adeyemi, lauded the governor for fulfilling his promise, urging him to keep it up and pay all the salaries’ arrears owed by the immediate past government in the state.

Adeyemi said, “Mr. governor should keep it up because the leave bonus is the first bonus l received from government.”