Prepare for hard times, APC tells Osun residents

The All Progressives Congress has advised the people of Osun State to brace up for austerity measures as the only way out of the economic crisis facing the state.

The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the APC in Osun State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, gave this advice in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Saturday, while congratulating the labour unions and the state government for finally resolving the salary impasse.

The APC attributed the economic crisis in the country to the alleged 16-year misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government.

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He said “This will take a lot of sacrifice and belt tightening to fix. Every citizen must be prepared to experience one form of austerity or the other in the meantime if we are to expeditiously overcome the damage done by the PDP to the nation’s economy. Something has to give way for better things to happen.

“It is not the government that will bear the brunt alone, the people should be prepared to share in making sacrifices, so that we can build a future for our children.”

The ruling party in the state blamed the PDP for the inability of the state to pay workers for many months, saying the opposition party orchestrated the attacks against the government to discredit it.

He said further, “Of the number of states in the country where this same crisis persisted, it was only in Osun that a satanic twist was orchestrated by the PDP to magnify the sad event. This is because desperate politicians murderously seeking power will stop at nothing to exploit people’s misfortune for their selfish political ambition.”

But the opposition party has said they would not stop criticising the alleged maladministration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration.

The Director of Media, Publicity and Strategy of the PDP in Osun State, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, when contacted by our correspondent, said the criticisms against Aregbesola were more severe than in other states because the governor was the only one involved in reckless spending with impunity.

The PDP said the ruling party’s advice was a confirmation that Aregbesola was planning to retrench workers and to impose heavy taxes on the people.

He said, “Rather than prove us wrong, the APC has just corroborated our position that it has lost focus and cannot bring smiles to the faces of the people but hardship.

“It is sad that a government that promised workers good welfare packages during campaign would withhold their salaries for nine months and when given bailout by the FG, would fix it in a bank and embark on series of tactics to delay payment.

“We are aware of what hardship the party is promising the people of the state and they are heavy taxation, retrenchment, introduction of school fees and further delay in salary payment.’’