In another tranche of payment, a total of 537 retirees in Oyo State on Tuesday received cheques containing various gratuities that summed up to N1.5 billion.
The beneficiaries were retired local government staff, retired primary school teachers and next of kin of deceased staff across the 33 Local Government Areas of the state.
At the presentation of cheques at the state Secretariat, Ibadan, Chairman, Local Government Staff Pension Board, Prince Adebayo Adeyemi urged the beneficiaries not to squander the sums of money they are getting.
He also asserted the continued commitment of the Governor Seyi Makinde-led government to clear the backlog of various salaries owed pensioners over the years.
Adeyemi noted that the Oyo State Governor is a man of the people whose legacy is to care for the course of the pensioners and particularly the welfare of the people of the state.
He said: “The Present administration met an unbelievable unpaid arrears of gratuity of a sum of over Forty million naira and as today the government of Engr. Seyi Makinde has paid over Fourteen billion naira out of this amount.
“I’m glad to inform you that today’s exercise is going to gulp a sum of one billion, five hundred million naira to be disbursed to beneficiaries ranging from Alive Retirees of Primary Schools Service, Local Governments, those with serious health challenges and the next of kin of the deceased pensioners.”
Adeyemi, while commending the gesture and honest purpose of the government to the welfare services of aged retirees, he stated that those that retired from May 2019 to date are already captured in this current exercise.
“The Governor has promised to solve all the associated problems with the outstanding arrears of gratuity and other retirement benefits of our dear pensioners. We should therefore continue to pray for him and support his Administration to succeed and bring more development to the State”, he added.
Giving various instances, Secretary, Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo state, Mr. Segun Abatan, warned the beneficiaries against committing funds into ventures there are not grounded in its management.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Local Government Staff Pension Board, Alhaji Lukman Muraina also appreciated the Oyo State Government and the leaders of the pensioners in the state for their support and cooperation.
He however appealed to the people to continue to support the government, assuring them that they will not be disappointed.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Oluyemisi Tella said the continuous payment of pensions and gratuities by the current administration demonstrated the state governor as a kind and committed person.
