On Monday, the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, declared that the quarterly pension payment would be raised to N1bn. This move aims to eliminate the backlog of unpaid pensions and gratuities in the state.
During an interactive session with pensioners at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Kuto, Abeokuta, the governor made the announcement. He revealed that the administration inherited arrears of more than N80bn, but they have developed strategies to settle them.
Abiodun stated that, “When we came in, we met pension arrears of over N80bn. We started paying N500m at a time. We later increased it to N600m monthly. If the previous government had been paying, we would not be where we are today.
“I am expecting about N280bn from the Federal Government, which is the money we spent constructing federal roads. I can assure you that as soon as I get that money, I will pay between N10bn and N18bn as pensions and gratuities.”
Abiodun also revealed that no gratuity had been paid between 2012 and when he took office in 2019. He did, however, announce that he would increase the monthly pension for retirees who were previously receiving N5,000 to N15,000. He expressed concern about how people could survive on such a small amount of money during these challenging times.
Abiodun also stated that his administration had implemented several measures to increase the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, including improving infrastructure and security and creating a favorable environment for investments.
Meanwhile, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Alhaji Waheed Oloyede, had earlier requested that the state government raise the monthly pension for those still receiving N5,000. He also stated that the N600 million quarterly payment for pension was insufficient to cover gratuities. Oloyede called for the state to align its pension system with the federal government’s and establish regular communication between pensioners and the state government to address any outstanding issues.
