The Osun State Government has denied inheriting any entity known as Osun Job Centre from the administration of former governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
The state government also added that it had not withheld salaries of civil servants since it came into office on November 27, 2022.
It was alleged to have shut down the Osun Job Centre and also withheld the 12 months salaries of staff members.
The state government, while denying the allegations in a statement signed by Kolapo Alimi, the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment and obtained by newsmen on Monday, revealed that staff engaged at the centre were contract staff and that the civil servants within the centre has been redeployed to various ministries in the state.
According to the Alimi, “Our attention has been drawn to a false publication alleging that Governor Ademola Adeleke has shut down Osun Job Centre and withheld 12 month salaries of staff.
“There is no truth in this as Governor Adeleke did not inherit any purported Osun Job Centre from the immediate past administration and under this workers friendly government, no salary of any civil servants had been withheld.
“Members of the public should be informed that the said Job Centre was created in 2016 but former Governor Oyetola on assumption of office in 2018 tactically shut it down and allocated the complex to Bosun Oyintiloye who used it for Civic Engagement.
“Records showed that throughout the period 2018 to 2022, the said centre was not funded and at a point, the rented apartment became the campaign office for the former Governor.
“Official records also showed that those engaged at the centre are contract staff who were engaged without compliance with public service regulations and who were mostly political activists.
“The few civil servants within the centre were also redeployed.
“The Oyetola administration used the Centre as annexure of the Ministry of Information to placate Mr Oyintiloye, who by then was Special Adviser to Oyetola on Civic Engagement in the Ministry of Information and Civic Engagement.
“The place was a political campaign ground all through the tenure of the last administration.”
Alimi insisted that the Adeleke administration is focused on increasing economic opportunities for residents through support for small businesses, assisting job seekers to become employers of labour.
He also maintained that the government was focused on creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state.