You paid only N3bn not N70bn, Ogun pensioners tell Abiodun

The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), in Ogun State, has faulted the claim of the state government that it had paid N70 billion for gratuity arrears and pensions since the assumption of office in 2019.

The state chairman of NUP, Comrade Waidi Oloyede, at a press conference, on Wednesday, said the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun, had only paid N3billion,

Tribune Online recalled that Abiodun recently at a Town Hall Meeting on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and 2023 Budget for Ogun East Senatorial District, held in Ijebu-Ode, disclosed that about N70billion had been expended on payment of outstanding gratuities and pensions.

Governor Abiodun also said that his government had increased the quarterly N500m payment to defray outstanding gratuities to N600m.

He said “It is very disheartening to note that his Excellency, Dapo Abiodun would make such a statement to the whole world at that forum insinuating perhaps that the pensioners are being ungrateful to his acts of kindness at paying our monthly pensions which is not enough to feed most retirees talk less of taking care of the health challenges.

“The question arising from the credited statement is, are we as pensioners no longer entitled to monthly pensions? Is Governor Abiodun doing us (pensioners) any favour by paying pensions? Do mainstream workers not receive salaries monthly? Why did he not state the amount paid to the mainstream worker? Does it infer that pensioners are getting more than they deserve from his administration? Are pensioners’ wage bills more than that of the mainstream workers and all political appointees (commissioners, special advisers, Liaison officers, consultants, etc) all put together?”

Oloyede explained that the N3bn when calculated “could not pay gratuities of those who retired during his tenure i.e from June 2019 till date.”

He urged the governor to take a cue from his colleagues, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto and Babagana Zulum of Borno State who paid pensioners backlog of gratuities inherited by their predecessors in office.

Oloyede said “How far will the N600m quarterly gratuity just announced will go? Many pensioners received the September 2022 pensions on the 18th October, 2022, and do not know when that of October 2022 will come. It has never been this bad in the history of Ogun State, whereas Governor Seyi Makinde pays pensions on the 25th of each month.

“Pensioners are dying in droves on a daily basis for lack of good health care requiring financial redemption.

“It is unfair, coming from a Governor and directed against the Senior citizens that have served meritoriously for decades of which the take-home of many is barely N5,000.”

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