Pensioners Threaten Ogun Govt Over N66bn Gratuities, Entitlements
Pensioners have threatened to shut Ogun State down with protest if Governor Dapo Abiodun failed to pay up their N66billion gratuities and other entitlements owed in the last 10 years.
The aggrieved pensioners gave him a 14-day ultimatum to meet up with their demands.
The pensioners under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), lamented poor living conditions, saying most pensioners were on an N5,000 monthly pension, which was not enough to feed the dogs of a governor in one day.
This is coming less than 24 hours after the organised labour in the state asked the governor to address their pathetic plight.
In a letter addressed to the governor jointly signed by the State Chairman and the Secretary of NUP, Waheed Oloyede and Bola Lawal, the pensioners berated Abiodun for not implementing a 33.4 per cent increment in pension as directed by the Federal Government.
They noted the governor paid only N2 billion out of an N68 billion backlog of gratuities and other entitlements, hanging on his government’s neck.
The letter reads: “It could be observed that since the inception of your administration in this state, the elder citizens have been treated with a non-challenge attitude culminating in unprecedented sufferings of the pensioners in the state.
“It is unfortunate that the non-payment of pension coincided with the period of party primaries both at the state and national levels. Much as we are not against political activities, we are seriously against the situation where political activity expenditures are the bane of Pensioners’ hunger.
“Given aforementioned, the Ogun State Pensioners are fully ready to demand their right by the only option they have unprecedan ented protest. Enough is enough. The Ogun State Government is hereby given 14daa ultimatumtum to implement all our demands and pay both May and June 2022 monthly pension in full, otherwise, the fir,e on the mountain would drop down.
“We know some governors who came into office at the same time with Your Excellency who has paid based N18 billion to N25 billion to offset unpaid gratuities they met on the ground, but the, unfortunately, Ogun state government paid only N2billion out of N68 billion on the ground in the three years, meaning that many pensioners would die without being paid their life entitlements.”
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