Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, on Thursday declared that it was not ideal on the parts of Nigerians to reduce governance in the country to the payment of salaries to workers in the public sector, saying civil servants in Osun constitutes only two per cent of the state’s population, while their dependants occupies three per cent.

He said it would amount to an act of accuracy and unjustifiable assessment to rate his government’s performance on his inability to pay salaries to Osun workers as at due, saying governance should be premised on the commitment to the collective inetrest and welfare of the entire population through the provision of effecient services in all sectors and building of durable infrastructures that would serve all and sundry.

Aregbesola, who spoke at the grand finale of the activiteis, commemorating the 2017 Press Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Osun State chapter in Osogbo said “it is justifiable on the part of media to reduce development to the few on the payment of salaries. if you juxtapose the civil servants, who are just 2% of the entire population and their dependants, who are about three per cent, then you will realise that governance should not be reduced to payment of salaries to workers”.

He stated, “a society is not made up by people in government alone. Aregbesola has performed, the roads that giovernemnt build would be used by all. The drainages that government built would save everybody. The security that government provides is for everybody. You will not reduce development to only payment of salaries. Essence of government is compassion. If government primary role is to be concerned about the welfare of the people as  it was with Britain during the 1st world war and second world war. There was a time food was in short supply in Britain. The PM at that time was Wilston Churchill”.

“Wilston Churchill addressed the people on the need to sacrifice. The British women, who could not go to war willingly donated their jewerlriss to the cost of war. Nigeria entered a war in 2013 when 600, 000 barrels of crude oil were being stolen. What happened to Nigeria was equivalent to war. It got worsened and the theft grew to 1m barrel of crude. The theft created a glut in the international market”, Aregbesola

While charging the media to set standard and be actively involved in agenda setting for the society, the governor maintained that “rather than the media rising up to the challenge, they kept on burgeoning the people trying to do good for the soceity. We are not condemning the workers; we are only telling the media of their roles in setting the standard. If you see corruption, report corruption and challenge corruption. It is the duty of the media to let us know that when this happen (crude oil losing its value) media should rise up to the global challenge of hunger and famine. The press can set an agenda that it’s a curse for any nation to depend on others for food. It’s an agenda that press must set, zero tolerance for autocracy.

Aregbesola added that “Federalism must be supported because it is fundamental issue upon which our nation was created. Therefore we cannot be ruled as singularly component.

The press in Nigeria must play a a leading role. Not a press that pillory a governor for having a flag and its anthem, saying we we want to secede. What Osun can never contemplate is seccession. There so federalism in the world where three tiers of government is recognised. Can local government be a federating unit, the answer is no. The press must support the people in promoting true federalism. The issue is not about me, but about the interest of the nation.

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Governance shouldn’t Be Reduced to Payment of Salaries Only – Gov. Rauf Aregbesola