Osun APC alleges ₦20,000 palliatives amount to vote-buying

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the state government of using the disbursement of ₦20,000 palliatives to workers and other beneficiaries as a vote-buying strategy ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

 

In a statement issued in Osogbo on Wednesday, the APC Campaign Council described the payments as politically motivated, urging relevant authorities to investigate the exercise.

 

The statement, signed by the Head of the APC Campaign Council’s Media and Publicity Committee, Oluremi Omowaiye, alleged that thousands of workers and residents received the payments only days before the election.

 

According to Omowaiye, the timing of the disbursement raised concerns about the government’s intention.

 

“The government is attempting to sway public support with public funds in the build-up to the election,” he said.

 

The APC also alleged that members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Osun, who usually receive ₦5,000 monthly support from the state government, were among those paid ₦20,000.

 

The party further accused the Adeleke administration of neglecting outstanding financial obligations to workers, including contributory pension remittances and cooperative deductions, while proceeding with the palliative payments.

 

“These are the same workers whose contributory pension and cooperative deductions have remained unpaid for the last two years,” Omowaiye alleged.

 

The opposition also claimed that despite making provisions in the 2025 budget to settle gratuity arrears, the state government had yet to fulfil that commitment, arguing that many pensioners remained unpaid.

 

Describing the payments as unlawful, the APC alleged that public funds were being used to influence voters.

 

However, the Osun State Government defended the palliative payments, insisting they were part of ongoing measures to cushion the impact of economic hardship on civil servants.

 

In a statement, the spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, said the payments reflected the administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare.

 

“We have once again disbursed palliatives to augment salaries as part of our commitment to civil servants, who remain the backbone of our administration,” Rasheed said.

 

The government added that the periodic palliative payments predated the implementation of the new minimum wage and formed part of its broader labour welfare policy.