By Ayo Olowu

The Special Adviser to the Ondo State Governor on Union Matters and Special Duties, Comrade Bola Taiwo, has restated the unwavering commitment of the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa-led administration to prioritising the welfare of workers and pensioners in the  State.

Taiwo who made the assertion in an exclusive interview with Weekend Hope emphasised that Governor Aiyedatiwa has continually demonstrated this commitment through regular payment of workers’ salaries and retirees’ pensions and gratuities.

The Special Adviser corroborated the positive impacts of the governor’s welfare initiatives with the instance of an elderly woman retiree, who could not walk, but suddenly walked after receiving her gratuity cheque of N7.5 million.

“I want to give you an illustration of Mr. Governor’s welfare initiatives. Sometimes ago, we were all there. A woman came, an old woman, a retiree. She could not walk. We had to support her. We supported her to the Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office.

“But when the woman received N7.5 million in gratuity, she stood up and continued to walk. That is how it was. Everybody was surprised. Mama said, I can walk now.

“That is what Mr. Governor is doing and he will continue to do it. The people of Ondo State will be happy. The woman had some health challenges, but as soon as she received #7.5million, the health challenges disappeared,” Taiwo said.

The Special Adviser equally highlighted government’s determination to sustain the prevailing peace in Ondo State through positive disposition to labour matters.

According to him, government had continually convened regular peace meetings with the leadership and members of the various unions in the state including professionals, artisans, drivers, commercial motorcyclists among others towards amicable resolution of various disputes that may arise.

“When I came on board as a Special Adviser to the Governor on Union Matters and Special Duties, I looked at the terrain and the system of things in this state. Then I invited all the past union leaders.

“I invited them to my office. And I told them that the peace of Ondo State is highly paramount. That is how I call meetings regularly. And we are still maintaining and sustaining the peace,” Taiwo added.

He dispelled insinuations about the purported arbitrary increase in ticketing rates for both taxi drivers and commercial motorcyclists in the state.

According to him, such insinuations are baseless as Ondo State charges the least ticketing rates in the South West region of the country.

“We sent people to all the South West states to see what is happening there. Oyo, Osun, Lagos. And I think the least is N850, N800. We came back from those states and we informed Mr. Governor about our findings.

“Mr. Governor said no. We have just finished our election, 18-0. And you want to start something with N1,000. You want to create problems in the system.

“That was why we moved our own to N500, the least in the South West, N500 for Okada and N1,000 for Keke Napep. That is what is happening,” Taiwo said.

He sought absolute loyalty from the leadership and membership of labour unions in the state towards promoting the growth and development of Ondo State.

On the relevance of the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) under the autonomous local government administration system as pronounced by the Supreme Court, Taiwo affirmed that the Aiyedatiwa- led government had consistently ensured that there are no disputes regarding the operations of the LCDAs and local governments in the state.

He reiterated government’s commitment to maintain the LCDAs and make it functional and vibrant in its operations.

We know that the LCDAs Chairmen and the main local government Chairmen, who were elected, are from the same party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). So they are friends. They have to work together.

“If there is peace, everyone will work together. There is peace in Ondo State, and Mr. Governor is in control. So, there is no problem”, Taiwo stressed.