Fayemi clears N181m primary school pension •Donates N1m for upgrade of pensioners secretariat
Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has pledged to clear the nine months pension totalling N181 million owed some retired primary school teachers between January and September 2002.
The nine months backlog of the pension, which originally covers 13 months, is to be cleared in four instalments after the Fayemi-led government had a few months ago effected payment of the first four months.
Governor Fayemi who gave this assurance during a meeting with pensioners in Ado- Ekiti recently also disclosed that government had this month earmarked N150 million to pay gratuity, despite the recent shortfalls in the federal allocations to the state.
He said that the burden of gratuity owed the retirees is not unrelated to the fact that all the workers employed during the creation of the old Ondo State in 1976 have retired in the last three years and this has increased the financial responsibility of government towards the retirees. Fayemi disclosed that arrangement is ongoing to off-set the gratuity owed some people who retired in 2013.
On the arrears of the increase of 6 and 15 per cent in pension as approved by the Salaries, Income and Wage Commission in 2010 and backdated to 2003, but implemented in Ekiti State in February this year, Fayemi said that government may grind to a halt if the arrears of 13 years is cleared at once; saying that government is considering financial debt buy-back in order to enable the retirees get their money on time.
Reiterating his government’s commitment to clear all the gratuity-related debt owed by the state government, Fayemi said his administration owes the retirees a duty to repay the service rendered by the pensioners by making life more enjoyable for them.
He donated N1 million to the leadership of the state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, NUP, for the upgrading of its secretariat to which Fayemi had during construction made a personal donation of N100,000 in 2011.
