Osun Debunks LG Salary Delay Claims, Says Core Workers’ Pay Ongoing Despite ₦230bn Allocation Dispute

 

The Osun State Government has dismissed claims that local government workers are not receiving their salaries, clarifying that core salary payments remain consistent despite challenges linked to withheld statutory allocations estimated at about ₦230 billion.

The government said recent public commentaries suggesting that salaries were affected by the alleged hijacking of local government funds misrepresented the true financial situation of the council system.

In a statement issued in Osogbo on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said there has been no interruption in the payment of salaries to local government employees across the state.

According to him, workers continue to receive their full salaries as and when due, contrary to claims circulating in some quarters.

He explained that although local government allocations have allegedly been withheld for close to a year — now totaling about ₦230 billion — the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke has continued to fund salary payments from state resources to prevent hardship among workers and their families.

Alimi, however, noted that the situation has affected the payment of certain allowances and supplementary entitlements that are normally funded directly from local government statutory allocations.

He said such allowances are structurally tied to council funds and cannot be fully paid without access to those allocations, stressing that the funding gap has constrained parts of the local government financial framework.

The commissioner added that the disputed funds were originally meant for grassroots administration, development projects, operational costs, and worker-related benefits at the local government level.

He urged the public to distinguish clearly between salary payments and supplementary allowances, insisting that while allowances have been impacted, core salaries remain regular and uninterrupted.

Alimi reaffirmed that workers’ welfare remains a top priority of the state government despite prevailing financial pressures.