Nigeria: Pensioners in Ondo State, organised under the banner of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), have expressed dissatisfaction with the state administration over a backlog of unpaid gratuities as well as an outstanding monthly pension.
When they appealed to Akeredolu to clear the backlog of payments, the pensioners pointed out that the majority of those who retired from the local government service since 2011 had not yet received their gratuity, while those who retired from the state civil service had not received their gratuity since 2013.
During the celebration of this year’s Pensioners’ Day, which took place on Tuesday at the Union’s Secretariat in Akure, the state capital, the pensioners revealed their situation.
Hon. Johnson Osunyemi of the National Union of Pensioners (NUP) State Chairman says the government should expedite the payment of pensioners’ monthly pensions that are eight months or more behind in their payments, as well as pensioners from local governments who have been behind in their payments for more than six months.
The governor of Akeredolu, on the other hand, was praised by Osunyemi for becoming the first governor in the Southwest to accept implementation of the 33 percent pension rise in 2020.
He advocated for retirees across the state to be able to verify their identities online.
“By embracing online verification, we hope to provide a more comprehensive approach to future pensioner verification, allowing our elderly pensioners to be verified from the comfort of their own homes rather than being subjected to the inconvenience of the current system of verification,” he said.
Pensioners were assured of his administration’s commitment to ensuring their optimal welfare, and Governor Akeredolu revealed that three months’ worth of pension arrears would be paid by the end of 2021, as part of his promise to ensure their optimal welfare.
According to Akeredolu, who was represented by the Head of Service, Pastor John Adeyemo, the COVID-19 pandemic and other subsequent variants had a negative impact on the state’s finances, which he claimed had a negative impact on the regular and full payment of salaries and pensions by the government.
