Ogun retirees protest non-payment of pension in 4 years

Pensioners in Ogun State on Thursday protested the non-payment of their outstanding gratuities and arrears since 2019.

The pensioners who came together under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Ogun State chapter, put the outstanding gratuities owed by the state government at N64.4 billion.

The Chairman of the union, Waidi Oloyede, who addressed journalists on behalf of the pensioners, urged Governor Dapo Abiodun to respect their old age, saying “No one deprives the elderly of their ‘walking sticks’ without its attendant consequences.”

He also appealed to the governor to increase the quarterly payment of gratuities from N500 million to at least N2 billion in the state.

Oloyede said: “It is unimaginable to state that a total sum of N3.6 billion has so far been paid as gratuities by the Ogun State government over three and half years ago.

READ ALSO:Ogun pensioners press for N10,000 each from state government to survive lockdown

“It is our candid belief that with the increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in our state as openly admitted by His Excellency in recent times, we strongly believe that a quarterly release of N2 billion will marginally go a long way to offset the backlog of unpaid gratuities.

“Pensioners are dying in droves on a daily basis for lack of good healthcare that require ample financial redemption and expected pensions for the 25th of each month as it used to be in the Ogun State of previous administrations

“This looks like a government of deceit to the senior citizens since life is now very unbearable for the pensioners in Ogun State.

“No one deprives the elderly of their ‘walking sticks’ without its attendant repercussions. We are hereby calling on the Ogun State Government led by Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun to have a change of heart and pay the gratuities of the elderly that have toiled hard in their hay-days to keep the state on a sound footing.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now