By David Olowosile

It is a truism that whatsoever a man sows he shall he reap. Now the seed of rancour in the labour sector sown by the immediate past governor of Ekiti State is now coming to fore. But unfortunately, the victims seem to be some 2,000 innocent persons in the state.

Fayemi and Fayose

The laying off of 2,000 workers recruited by former Governor Ayodele Fayose between August and September 2018 within about one month of his exit from office have now been confirmed. What is also true is that the outgoing Fayose government was in so much of haste to make the recruitment that proper documentation into the payroll of the state was not done. They had not even been paid.

As governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose was known for all sorts of drama. Staging drama after drama at the expense of the people was his pastime. Months after he became governor of the state for the second time in 2014 he promised to employ workers into the state’s labour force. Applicants were asked to submit their CVs and over 10,000 indigenes paid the prescribed N1,000 fee for the form.

However, until he left office in September 2018 nothing was heard about that exercise. It is now on record that the governor actually employed about 200, mostly menial workers after he came into office. They were between GL 01 and 04.

But as with everything with the former governor, there was a drama to it. Those who were employed were not formally inducted into the state’s payroll and the gist everywhere is that they were being paid “under the table,” whatever that meant.

That is on record as the only employment that the governor did until about three months to his exit from office when he announced plans to employ about 2,000 workers into the state’s labour force.

The promise was made just before the July 2018 governorship election and given the story of the 10,000 applicants, few believed the story. It was seen as just another election promise by the outgoing governor aimed at deceiving the people of the state.

Another reason why people doubted him was the fact that just before the election the Fayose administration was owing workers for seven months in salaries. How a governor owing that much would go the hog of adding to the labour force was seen as untenable.

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Former Minister of State for Works and Prince Dayo Adeyeye while querying the rationale for Fayose’s election promise said: “Few weeks after his inauguration as the state governor, he instructed unemployed youths in the state to submit their curriculum vitae for jobs.

“Over ten thousand youths in the state paid the sum of N1, 000 each, to collect the forms for the jobs, but unfortunately, up till now, he did not employ one single youth in the state,” he said.

“I wonder how a state governor, who has not paid the state workers for over seven months, owing pensioners months of gratuity and local government workers as well, is going to fund the employment of two thousand fresh employees.

“Here is somebody, who sacked all workers employed by Dr Kayode Fayemi administration, and now wants to employ 2,000 workers.

“Workers and the youths should know that he is only deceiving them and does not have their interests at heart. The people cannot be deceived because an average Ekiti worker is more educated and enlightened than he is,” he said.

Even the Labour Party candidate in that election, Dr Sikiru Lawal who ordinarily should have been inclined towards such a populist idea was not deceived, as he flayed Fayose, for trying to take the people for granted through another bogus promise.

So, willy-nilly, the election did not turn out well for Fayose, with his deputy and PDP gubernatorial candidate, Prof. Olusola Eleka losing the poll to Dr Kayode Fayemi.

However, where politics should have ended as Prince Adeyeye insinuated, the former governor took the drama further and few weeks to his exit in September he commenced the recruitment of 2,000 staff into the state’s civil service.

Fayose, through his Media Aide, Mr Lere Olayinka defended the recruitment as a fulfilment of the governor’s promise. “It is on record that Governor Fayose announced in January this year that recruitment will be made into the state public service and this was followed up with the distribution of employment forms in May.”

“This was consequent upon the existing vacancies in the public service, especially the teaching sector. There are schools without adequate teachers in critical subjects like Mathematics, Physics, English and others. So, the students that are resuming in September should wait till Fayemi assumes office?

“Most importantly, Fayose will carry out all the functions of his office till October 16 and since there is a need to employ workers, the government will do so through a transparent process.”

However, that was in spite of the fact that the Fayose government was at that time owing about seven months of salaries.

The arrears of salary left behind by the Fayose government was beside the total debt profile of over N155.79 billion Governor Fayemi has reported that the former governor left behind.

*Olowosile is a public affairs commentator