BY OLA AJAYI
IBADAN — AS indications emerged that Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State will act on petitions alleging that some top civil servants in the state public service are working with forged certificates, his predecessor, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala has said it will be counter-productive.

According to the former governor, who spoke through his spokesperson, Prince Dotun Oyelade, the move indicated that civil servants in the state were a “bunch of incompetent and fraudulent workers.”

To him, since his successor assumed office, he had always complained about why things were not working.
Governor Ajimobi  recently said he received several petitions against some top civil servants over alleged false certificates.

The governor noted that there were evidences that some of such officers were engaged in anti-government activities and that his government would prosecute them.

Akala asked in the statement “Why will the Governor choose to announce that he would probe many top civil servants whom he accused of climbing the ladder using forged certificates when his only proof was hearsay?”

The move, he reiterated, smacked of a pre-determined agenda at vengeance wondering why the governor should not seize the auspicious period of Ramadan to provoke motivation in the already distraught Civil Service instead of a morale dampener.

Akala also criticized his successor for allegedly unsettling directors of Personnel Management and staff of the 33 Local Governments with threats and intimidation.

The statement recalled that the minimum wage issue had remained particularly intractable in Oyo State because of the ego-driven style of the present Administration.  It must be admitted, the statement said that Government can run smoothly even without any strong-arm tactics or enthusiasm to show who really is in-charge.