By Adekunle Alao
Workers, under the aegis of Osun Workers Union (OWU), have expressed grave concern over what it described as the irresponsible depletion of the state’s resources through the payment of a ₦20,000 “palliative” to workers, while selected senior officers reportedly received between ₦100,000 and ₦200,000 under the same arrangement.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Organising Secretary of the Union, Comrade Gabriel Adeoye, the Union said the payment was nothing more than a desperate attempt by Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration to placate workers who have become increasingly frustrated by the government’s failure to fulfil its electoral promises to civil servants and pensioners.
According to the Union, Governor Adeleke promised during the last electioneering campaign to clear the half-salary arrears inherited from the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola within six months of assuming office. However, with barely a week to another governorship election, the government has reportedly not paid up to half of the outstanding arrears, yet continues to embark on what the Union described as noisy propaganda about its commitment to workers’ welfare.
OWU further alleged that Osun workers remain angry because the government deducted contributory pension and cooperative savings from their salaries without remitting the funds to the appropriate Pension Fund Administrators and cooperative societies.
The Union also noted that the state’s 2025 Audited Financial Statements reportedly show that although the government budgeted ₦14.5 billion for gratuity payments in 2025 and another ₦6 billion for the settlement of gratuity arrears, no payments were made under either provision. It stated that this information can be verified on page 42 of the published audited accounts for 2025.
According to the Union, these developments have had severe consequences on the health, welfare and general well-being of workers and pensioners across the state.
“It is unfortunate that while workers continue to struggle under harsh economic conditions, the governor and a privileged few, including some labour leaders, continue to live in luxury at the expense of public resources. A whooping N11 billion was spent by the governor and some few associates on travels in 2025,” the statement said.
OWU further alleged that in 2025 the Osun State Government received four refunds and special allocations from the Federal Government amounting to about ₦76 billion, including:
Distribution on Infrastructure – ₦37 billion; Distribution of ₦74 billion to states (First and Second Tranches) – ₦4 billion; NLNG Dividend Refund to States (First Instalment) – ₦25.2 billion and Price Balance of Project Gazette to States – ₦10 billion.
The Union questioned why, despite these inflows, the government allegedly failed to clear the half-salary arrears, gratuities and pension obligations.
OWU also claimed that allegations regarding the management of state finances have become subjects of investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The Union further asserted that Governor Adeleke, in a recent public address, confirmed that some officials of the state government, including the Accountant-General, had been invited by the EFCC over issues relating to the management of state resources.
The Union described the ongoing payments to workers, pensioners and residents as an election-season strategy intended to win public sympathy ahead of the governorship election.
While encouraging workers, pensioners and residents to make use of whatever money they have received because it belongs to the people, the Union urged them to remain vigilant.
“If you have received the ₦20,000, spend it on your family’s needs. Buy pepper soup, enjoy shawarma, drink Maltina or meet any pressing household expenses because it is your money.
“However, do not allow this token to distract you from the realities of the last four years. This last-minute generosity should not erase years of unfulfilled promises, unpaid entitlements and economic hardship.
“If the experience of the first term has been this disappointing, Osun people should carefully reflect on what a second term could mean for workers, pensioners and the future of the state.”
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When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun, FCIPS, ACFE, as Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on November 14, 2024, he did not bring in an outsider. He promoted an insider. A pioneer staff of the Bureau and former Director of Research, Training & Strategic Planning, Adedokun had spent over two decades watching where Nigeria’s procurement system leaked. In less than a year, he has set about plugging them. His mandate is clear, and his approach even clearer, move public procurement in Nigeria “from transactional to transformative.” The results, according to BPP’s own reports and independent assessments, are already measurable in trillions of naira. Procurement has long been described as the government’s biggest vulnerability. Under Adedokun, it is becoming its strongest line of defense. BPP data shows over ₦1.1 trillion saved in 2025 alone through price intelligence, tighter processes, and stricter accountability reforms. Cumulatively, the Bureau’s price intelligence unit has saved ₦1.9 trillion from contract inflation, diversion, and fraud. On the average, approximately 40 billion saved annually would have otherwise left government coffers. The pace is accelerating. In just 5 weeks of his tenure, due diligence alone accounted for ₦1.3 billion in savings. Within 6 months, the upgraded Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO) had delivered ₦173 billion in savings. “The BPP has been saving the country from loss on contracts inflation, diversion of public funds and poor service delivery.” If you walked into BPP with a file since March 1st 2026, you would be sent back. “In the last few months, we no longer receive hard copies of requests. It is direct transmission digitally to the Bureau,” the DG said. That single change marks the end of a 20-year paper regime and the start of BPP’s total digital transformation. The roll out Nigeria E-Market, a digital marketplace designed to connect government buyers directly with suppliers and contractors has helped to cut human interference, increase competition, and make pricing visible. It is part of full E-Procurement push aimed at streamlining processes, reducing delays, ensuring due diligence, and opening participation to both local and international firms. To support this, BPP has upgraded its Contractors & Consultants Database. Contractors are now classified by proven competence and can only bid for projects within approved categories, a direct response to the era of unqualified firms winning contracts they could not execute. Adedokun’s reforms are not only digital; enabling the roll out of Seventeen (17) revised Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) covering goods, works, consultancy, defense, infrastructure, and PPPs. The objective is to remove ambiguity that contractors and MDAs have exploited for years. A National Debarment Policy has now been deployed blacklist erring contractors. A Price Intelligence & Benchmarking System has been established to compare contract costs against market realities. Crucially, BPP has reviewed Service-Wide Prior Review & Monetary Threshold Guidelines to reflect current economic realities and reduce the bottleneck of sending routine approvals to the Federal Executive Council. He has also enforced the Presidential directive on Variations which compels all contract variations to come to BPP for approval, a move designed to curb the fiscal inflation that has swollen project costs. Adedokun has set hard timelines. BPP now operates on a 20-day maximum turnaround for procurement approvals. Under new Service Level Agreements, letters are processed within three days, and reports in fourteen days. He has also introduced a first quarter Procurement Policy mandating all contract award processes to commence and conclude within the first quarter of the fiscal year. The idea is to stop the December rush and give projects a full year to deliver. Beyond savings, the DG is using procurement as a development tool under the Nigeria First Policy, to deliver the Nigeria First, Nigerians first. Ministries, Department and Agencies are now mandated to prioritize Nigerian-made goods and local firms. BPP has signed an MoU with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to strengthen the application of Nigerian Industrial Standards in federal procurement. On inclusivity, BPP has set an Affirmative Procurement Target of 20% of contracts reserved for women-led and women-owned businesses, youths, PWDs, and SMEs. Building People, Building Systems Reforms fail without capacity. More than 350 procurement officers have been trained under the 2025 Mandatory Continuous Procurement Capacity Development Programme. BPP has also deepened its reach through strategic MoUs with UNDP, AfDB, World Bank, NIQS, EFCC, and ICPC for training, auditing, benchmarking, and monitoring. In the education sector, BPP has launched a University Procurement Framework, complete with guidelines, SBDs, and e-submissions to professionalize procurement in Nigerian universities. Aljazirah Newspaper named him 2025 Person of the Year for ‘Exemplary Public Service Stewardship’, citing structural changes and ethical leadership. He also received the “Public Sector Reformer of the Year” 2025 award and other awards and recognitions not mentioned here. For Dr. Adedokun, the awards are secondary. “Procurement must shift from being a transactional activity to being a strategic development tool,” he has told different stakeholders during engagements and meetings. The verdict so far twenty months into his tenure, Dr. Adedokun has repositioned BPP as more than a clearing house for contracts. It is now a data-driven, digital, and development-focused institution. In a country where procurement was once a pipeline for leakage, the Bureau under a pioneer-turned-reformer is showing that with systems, timelines, and political will, public money can be made to work for the public. As Mr. Sufuyan Ojeifo, a past Media Consultant with the BPP perfectly puts it, “Nigeria doesn’t lack policies, it lacks people who can make them stick. That’s where Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun comes in.”
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