Afenifere chieftain and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye has described as false and misleading, claim by the State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi that the State income cannot accommodate the payment of the 27.5 per cent teachers’ peculiar allowance otherwise known Teachers Salary Structure (TSS), saying; “the State was paying the allowance more than one year before Fayemi became governor and can still afford the payment.”
In a release signed by the Director General of his campaign organisation, Hon. Bisi Kolawole, the governorship aspirant berated Governor Fayemi for walking out on the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) President, Mr Alogba-Olukoya during a negotiation meeting in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, describing the action as a show of the governor’s contempt and wickedness towards teachers in the State.
Adeyeye, who disclosed that the State Government needs less than N30 million to pay the 27.5 per cent TSS, added that; “Even Governor Fayemi can pay that from his Security Vote which is in the region of N200 million per month.”
Adeyeye said; “I was the Chairman of the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) when the TSS was approved by the then Acting Governor, Rt. Hon. Tunji Odeyemi and the Segun Oni-led government implemented it without any delay.
“Even with the new minimum wage of N18,000, from information available to us, a Grade Level 9 teacher whose monthly Basic Salary is N26,229. 66 will take N7,232.41 as 27.5 percent TSS, while a Grade Level 16 Step1 teacher (Principal), whose Basic Salary is N51,571.67 will take additional N14,182.21 as 27.5 percent as TSS.
“So what is increment of just N14,182.21 to a Secondary School Principal when a Special Assistant to the governor earns over N250,000 per month?”
Speaking further, Adeyeye said; “Today, there are 15,210 teachers in Ekiti State, with 5,535 teaching in Secondary schools while 9,675 are in Primary Schools.
“The implication of this is that the State government has the responsibility of paying 5,535 and what the 27.5 per cent TSS will cost the State Government is less than N30 million.
“The remaining 9,675 who are Primary School teachers are paid from deductions made from allocation to the 16 Local Councils into the account of SUBEB.
In other words, Local Councils are the ones paying the primary school teachers and the total amount their own 27.5 per cent TSS will be is about N65 million.
“N65 million divided by 16 Local Councils will amount to a little above N4 million.
“So is Fayemi saying each of the 16 Local Councils cannot afford to pay N4 million as teachers allowance?
“Is he also saying that Ekiti State Government cannot afford to part with a mere N30 million so that the teachers can call off this needless strike action?
“This argument of Ekiti does not have money to pay the teachers can only come from people who do not see the teachers as human being that must be respected and we make bold to say that apart from sheer wickedness, the Fayemi-led Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government does not have any excuse to stop the payment of the 27.5 per cent TSS.”
