A senior lawyer and former Oyo State Attorney-General, Mr. Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo SAN has restated his “resolve to institute legal actions against the Government of Osun State and its Judicial Service Commission if they fail, neglect and refuse to clear and settle all the arrears of allowances they owe the judicial officers in the State on or before 30th September,2023 .”

Osun State Government had in its response to the earlier threat urged Ojo “to avoid distractive and interloping activism,” adding that “As we believe he is not politically recruited, he should adopt other dignifying route rather than usurping labour dispute question which only the unions and their employers can undertake.”

But in a statement made available to CITY LAWYER, Ojo vowed to press on with the lawsuit, saying that “The Governor and the Government of Osun State should be reminded that those allowance are deserved earnings and rights of the judicial officers for the lawful services they have rendered to the state and which has become due just debts that the government must settle and pay without further delay.”

The statement by the Osun State Government partly reads: “We can add for him that the Adeleke administration inherited from the two previous governments of the All Progressive Congress a whopping salary, pension and employment related debt to the tune of 100 billion naira. This is outside another state debt of over 400 billion naira. The Adeleke administration has however commenced payment of such salary and pension debt amidst cash crunch and equally competing demands for state expenditure.

“We are constrained to therefore urge the lawyer to avoid distractive and interloping activism. As we believe he is not politically recruited, he should adopt other dignifying route rather than usurping labour dispute question which only the unions and their employers can undertake.

“As we assume the lawyer has good intention, he can rework his threat into an appeal to the State Governor to continue his ongoing phased payment of outstanding liabilities inherited from the previous administrations. He may further commend the Governor for acting for all Osun people by devising strategies to complete abandon projects and gradual payments of outstanding liabilities.”

RE : OSUN URGES LAWYER TO DROP LEGAL ACTION THREAT

I read with amusement the press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Osun State, Mallam Abdul-Rasheed Olawale , who I must admit is a Gentleman per excellence.

However, while I truly acknowledge the fact that Senator Nurudeen Ademola Jackson Adeleke, the Governor of Osun State has truly hit the ground running in delivering the much needed dividends of democracy to the people of the State who gave him the mandate to lead them, but that should not be an excuse for the Governor to treat the Judicial Officers in the state ( both serving and retired) with disdain as if their allowances and just entitlements are largese , favour and privileges that are at the discretion or whims and caprices of the Governor and the Government of Osun State to settle or pay as he deems fit.

The Governor and the Government of Osun State should be reminded that those allowance are deserved earnings and rights of the judicial officers for the lawful services they have rendered to the state and which has become due just debts that the government must settle and pay without further delay.

Also, it beats me so hollow that Osun State Government failed to understand elementary issue of civic and political education that governance is a continuum and also that the debts are owed the judicial officers are debts owed by the Government of Osun State and not personal debt of any person. The amiable People’s Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke was fully aware of the state of debts of the Osun State Government when he was begging for the votes of the people of Osun State during the electioneering campaign period and for which the people of the state entrusted to him by voting him into office.

I must hasten to add that if the Governor of Osun State could find it comfortable and convenient to settle and clear all the arrears of salaries and severance packages of numerous past political appointees in the State just recently, I could not understand the rationale behind the continuing refusal of the government to also pay at once all the arrears of allowances that are being owed the judicial officers in the state, more so that the allowances due to the judicial officers are indeed far lower than the humongous sum of money paid to all the past political appointees in the state.

The Governor and the Government of Osun State would be doing themselves great public relations and will continue to earn and enjoy the goodwill of the people of the state and will also be threading the path of honour , decency, civility and nobility if they clear and pay without further delay all the arrears of allowances due to the judicial officers in the state so that the Osun State Government can be taken off and free from the opprobrium of disgrace and condemnation they are currently earning and attracting to themselves both nationally and globally as a result of the unprecedented and undeserved shabby and indecent treatments that the state has meted out to the judicial officers in the state.

I reiterate that I shall make good my resolve to institute legal actions against the Government of Osun State and its Judicial Service Commission if they fail, neglect and refuse to clear and settle all the arrears of allowances they owe the judicial officers in the State on or before 30th September,2023 .

DATED this 22nd day of September,2023

JCI Senator Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo,SAN
Asiwaju of Ita-Ege and Idi-Aro