Osun: Oyebamiji played no role in half-salary regime, media team says
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
The Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji Media Front has asserted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Osun State had no involvement in the half-salary regime implemented during the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The group made the statement while reacting to comments credited to the Spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, which linked Oyebamiji to the modulated salary era, portraying him as unfriendly to youths.
According to a statement signed by the Coordinator of the media group, Adebayo Adedeji, the half-salary policy began in June 2015, while Oyebamiji was appointed Commissioner for Finance in May 2017, a gap that clearly disproves claims that he was an architect of the policy.
Adedeji said, “Let it be stated clearly and emphatically that Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji was not part of the half-salary experiment. Historical facts do not lie. The modulated salary regime commenced in June 2015, whereas Oyebamiji was appointed Commissioner for Finance in May 2017 — a clear 23 months apart. How then does one become an ‘architect’ of a policy that was already in force nearly two years before his appointment? Only a spokesman who has made falsehood a profession could advance such an illogical claim.”
He added that full salary payments to civil servants resumed a few months after Oyebamiji assumed office, despite what he described as acute financial constraints facing the state at the time.
The media organisation noted that the real architect of the half-salary regime is currently serving as Chief Economic Adviser to Governor Adeleke, describing attempts by the Adeleke administration to link the policy to Oyebamiji as dishonest and hypocritical.
Reaffirming Oyebamiji’s youth-friendly record, Adedeji recalled that during his tenure as Commissioner for Finance under the administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, bursaries were paid regularly to Osun students, while school fees across public institutions were kept at manageable levels.
The group contrasted this with the present administration, alleging that school fees in public universities such as UNIOSUN and the University of Ilesa have risen to as much as ₦1.5 million, thereby placing heavy financial pressure on parents, and accused the Adeleke administration of commercialising education despite earning close to ₦1 trillion in revenue within three years.
The AMBO Media Front maintained that Oyebamiji has made youth welfare, access to education, and economic opportunity central to his programme, adding that he understands that the destiny of Osun lies in the hands of its young people and is fully committed to securing their future.
