Mr Clement Faboyede is no stranger to the murky waters of Ondo state politics. He was and still an avid supporter of the Dr. Segun Mimiko’s style of politics. In the hey days of Mimiko administration, ‘Faboo’ as he is popularly addressed was a force to reckon with. The Ifedore born politician held sensitive position all through the eight years of Mimiko’s tenure, which saw him held sway as a commissioner from where he eventually landed the top job of the state chairman of the peoples Democratic party, before the combined force of Jimoh Ibrahim and Biyi Bill Poroye tore the party in half, factionalising the once virile PDP structure in the state. Faboyede followed his principal from Labour party, that virile political platform that dislodged the ‘once upon a time strong man of Alagbaka, Dr. Olusegun Agagu’. His skill as a propagandist and a political marksman came to fore in the build up to Dr. Segun Mimiko’s second term in office. He alongside other stakeholders like a troubadour traversed the length and breadth of The sunshine state branding and selling the ‘orange revolution of their party, which to all intent and purpose was expected to be Labour friendly. But no sooner had they won the second term than they “ported” to the PDP, abandoning the Labour party and all the ideals of the party they had branded and sold to the electorate.
But that is an issue for another day. Politics imitate life and as nothing in life lasts forever, the prized position of these power wielders have since been upturned by the victory of Akeredolu Oluwarotimi in the November 26th gubernatorial poll, which sacked the PDP led government in the state. Before the expiration of the Segun Mimiko administration, there was this little matter of the government using the available resources of the state to settle the backlog of arrears owed political appointees. Of course, no one should begrudge them of that; the political appointees just like the Civil servants deserve their ‘wages’. It will be recalled however that the government of Dr. Mimiko was up to his neck in debt of six months salary to the state work force.
When the Civil servants were owed backlog of arrears and leave bonus, and no soothing response came from government quarters, making the entire work force of the state to survive in anguish and despair, it was like the state government turned the heat on its work force, more especially, with the realization that a whooping part of the Paris club loan refund had been released to the state, the purpose of which was to offset workers salary. As government is a continuum, the Akeredolu administration inherited the avoidable arrears and it behoves him to pay; thus politicians who never felt any scruples when government apparently abandon its statutory responsibility to its workforce by continually denying them the upward of six months salary should not distract the Akeredolu administration from finding means of promptly offsetting this debt to the Ondo state workers. It is against this background that one is tempted to see the criticism of the factional Chairman of PDP in Ondo state, Clement Faboyede, that Arakunrin Akeredolu should pay political appointees under the past administration, as a needless distraction and an attempt to set the new government against the Labour force. If the outgone administration owed civil servants six donkey months salary without apology, yet could pay salary and emolulents of its political appointees, without feeling any scruples that the Labour force might be unproductive if they are compelled to work on empty stomach, one is tempted to ask, which political appointee that had already been “settled” does Faboyede want the new government to pay again?
It could not be recalled that Mr. Clement Faboyede who visited the 18 local government areas and had a parley with civil servants in all the major towns of Ondo state during the clamor for his Principal’s second term sympathized with the owed workers in their trying time. Mum was the word from him! His silence while the past administration owed workers and his loud reaction now to the effect that political aids of his principal should be paid either salary or severance now with the little resources of government when workers are still being owed reek of insensitivity.
While one sympathizes with the cronies of Mr. Faboyede who were not fortunate enough to be captured in the last minute “settlement” of the immediate past administration of Dr. Mimiko, it is only trite to note that the present administration of Arakunrin Akeredolu knows unlike its predecessor that the Ondo state workforce is feeling the heat and pang of hunger and lack as a result of unpaid salaries. One expects that all stakeholders, Faboyede et al, give the present administration all the support required to offset the backlog of arrears the past administration pushed over to the new one in record time and not the other way round.