The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Oyo state council yesterday warned against the diversion of the Federal Government’s bailout funds to the state government for the payment of salary and other allowances owed workers.

The workers called on governor Abiola Ajimobi to ensure immediate payment of all outstanding arrears of salaries of workers in the state public service, tertiary institutions and pensions in the state as soon as the bail- out fund is released by the federal government to the state.

Speaking with newsmen after the congress, the state NLC chairman, Comrade Waheed Olojede said that this was part of the resolution reached by the workers at a congress held at the NLC state secretariat, Yidi Gate, Ibadan.

Following critical review of the crisis of unpaid arrears of workers’ salaries in the public service, tertiary institutions and pension in the state with its attendant economic hardship on the entire workforce, he urged the governor to ensure immediate payment of all outstanding arrears of salaries.

He further implored the state government to be wary of any misadvise as is being rumored to divert the fund the fund for some uses other than the purposes for which is immediate payment of arrears of salaries in the public service, tertiary institutions and pensions.

According to him, the resolutions of the meeting also frowned at the continued delay in the disbursement of May allocation for the payment of the balance of April salary to the staff of local government including primary school teachers.

He noted this action of government as a deviation from the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) mutually signed in the wake of the salary crisis and therefore urged immediate payment.

The NLC boss expressed worries and grave concern over the withdrawal of the services of the workers buses from the roads and the attendant agonies which workers suffers especially at this critical period of accumulated salaries.

He therefore appealed to governor Ajimobi to direct the return of the buses for the use of the workers to ameliorate the hardship they are currently passing through as occasioned by the avoidable withdrawal.