NAN-H-113
Pension
By Victor Adeoti
Osogbo, Nov. 16, 2016 (NAN) The Osun Government has said it has paid its pensioners up to August 2016 as part of its efforts to ensure their welfare.
Mr Semiu Okanlawon, the media aide to Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, stated this in a statement he issued on Wednesday in Osogbo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Okanlawon’s statement was in a reaction to a protest by the pensioners on Wednesday over unpaid pension arrears.
The State Chapter of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) staged a peaceful protest against non-payment of their pension arrears by the state government.
They also accused the state government of excluding them from the N34 billion bailout funds given to the state by the Federal Government.
Okanlawon, however, said the protest was ill-conceived as pensioners in the state had been paid till August.
The media aide said it was not true that the state government diverted the bailout funds given to the state by the federal government for the payment of workers’ salary arrears.
“Our attention has been drawn to a protest by a group of pensioners at the state capital, Osogbo, today.
“This is ill-conceived and the reason is that as their protest was ongoing, some of them were getting bank alerts for August while some had received their pay since yesterday.
“It does not sound good at all that the protest by this group is taking place the very day the pensioners are getting their pay.
“Given the commitment already demonstrated by the state government, we know this action by this group is not supported by the majority of pensioners in the state”.
Okanlawon also said that Local government and Primary Schools pensioners have been paid up to August as well as pensioners who retired from the civil service.
“The arrangement is that pensioners earning below N20, 000 are paid in full, while those earning above N20, 000 are paid 50 per cent.
“While we sympathize with our workers and pensioners alike for not paying up to October, it is pertinent to state that this is not peculiar to Osun.
“And indeed, Osun has made efforts that should be commended by all especially in the face of national cash crunch.
“There is no basis for accusing Aregbesola of diversion of any fund because simply put there is just nothing like that.
“And it must never be forgotten that it is this same Aregbesola administration that increased government’s commitment on pension from about N150million monthly to over N650million monthly.
“A government with no commitment to the welfare of workers and pensioners is not likely to have done this”. (NAN).
VE/DO/YAZ
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Edited by David Onilede/Yusuf Zango