Ogun Pensioners Accuse Abiodun of Mis-representing facts, Say only 3 billion paid and not 70 Billion
Femi Adewale
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Ogun State Council has accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of mis representing facts about payment of their gratitude and Pensions. Abiodun had stated last week at an event that he has paid 70billion Naira as Pension since assuming office.
The Pensioners have however debunked this saying Abiodun has only paid only 3 billion Naira and not 70 billion as claimed by the Governor. This was made known today in a statement signed by the Chairman of the Council, Comrade Waidi O. Oloyede and Comrade Segun Obadimu, the Public Relations Officer and made available to NigerianEcho.
“Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to Ogun State Governor, His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun MFR, at Ijebu-Ode, during the Town Hall Meeting on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and 2023 Budget for Ogun East Senatorial District.
“Governor Dapo Abiodun claimed that his administration has paid over N70 Billion as gratuity and pension to retirees in the last three and half years.
“It is disheartening to note that His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun would make such 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 various health challenges.
“The questions arising from the credited statement are:
a) Are we as Pensioners no longer entitled to monthly Pensions?
b) Is Governor Abiodun doing us (Pensioners) any favour by paying pensions?
c) Do the mainstream workers not receive salaries monthly?
d) Why did he not state the amount paid to the mainstream workers?
e) Does it infer that Pensioners are getting more than they deserve from his administration?
f) Is Pensioners’ wage bill more than that of the mainstream workers and all political appointees (Commissioners, Special Advisers, Liaison Offices, Consultants, etc) all put together?
“Governor Dapo Abiodun has paid N3 Billion so far as gratuity since assumption of office, a sum, when calculated, could not pay gratuity of all that retired during his tenure, i.e from June, 2019 till date.
“How far will N600 Million quarterly gratuity just announced will go? when Governor Professor Baba Gana Zulum of Bornu State paid N15 Billion in his first release and Governor Engineer Seyi Makinde of Oyo State Pensioners and of recent, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State who cleared 20years gratuities and pensions backlog. They met the indebtedness’ on assumption of office, noting that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of these states are lower than that of Ogun State.
“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.
“The Consequential Adjustment Committee, inaugurated on the 19th July, 2022, had its first and only sitting on the 2nd August, 2022. Further meetings have been stalled by the powers that be, in an attempt to truncate the upward review of pensions.”, the statement stated.
Pensioners said their members 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 N5000
“We expect His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun MFR to pay our entitlements and effect Consequential Adjustment of Pensions, then he can extol himself before the whole world as Pensioner friendly Governor”, the statement concluded.
