Factional Pensioners Protest In Osun

• Protesters Are Paid “Mischief Makers, Blackmailers” – Osun Govt

  A factional group of Pensioners in the State of Osun protested in Osogbo on Tuesday over the delay in the payment of their outstanding allowances.

The pensioners under the Forum of 2011/2012 retirees appealed to the State Government to pay them.

However, another group of the Pensioners, The Triangular group said the protests by the other groups were politically motivated.

The group discredited the 2011/2012 pensioners saying government had been fulfilling its obligations to the state workforce in view of the modulated salary structure agreed by labour unions in the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy in the State of Osun, Mr Adelani Baderinwa has described as the work of paid “mischief makers”, the protest by a group, 2011/2012 pensioners in the state where they alleged the state government of delaying their entitlements.

The protesters according to the Commissioner depicted the wrong side of the story as government had continued to pay them their pension, gratuities and other entitlements in spite of its lean resources.

Badeinwa said no genuine retired workers in the state would have embarked on the protest with the notion that those protesters are blackmailers and mischief makers.

The statement said “We wish to remind the general public that this set of pensioners were persistent in their show of shame and political gathering called protest between June and July last year when we were about to conduct the Osun West Senatorial District Bye election. They disappeared into the thin air immediately after the election. Seeing them on the street this time around is not surprising, they have been obviously paid to blackmail the government like they did a year ago.”

“For record purpose, the government had in February this year specially paid pensions and gratuity to a total number of 2006 pensioners who retired from Ministries, Departments, Agencies and parastatals service in 2011/2012 when the government released a sum of N1.2bn for such purpose. Cheques containing different amount of money was handed over to the pensioners by the Head of Service, Dr Oyebade Olowogboyega. Of the N1.2bn, a sum of N200m was used to paid gratuity while additional N200million was added in March for the payment of gratuity as well, making the total sum N400m for gratuity payment.”

“Also in May, a total sum of N200m was released for the payment of gratuities to retired officers on old pension scheme and another sum of N100million for the payment of contributory pensioners.  The payment of the gratuity was done by the Head Service, Oyebade, on May 24 this year at the Local Government Service Commission Hall, Government Secretariat, Abere. The gratuity was paid to the senior civil citizens of the state who processed their papers at the Teachers’ Establishment and Pensions Office (TEPO), Secondary School Teachers, Parastatals as well as those from some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).   A total of 720 retired public servants under the old scheme were also given part payment of their gratuity,” Baderiwa said.

The commissioner added that “In the same May of this year, the government released a sum of N1.8bn bond to the retired workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme in the state. More than 210 civil servants were given the bond certificates. 171 retired officers and 39 retired workers from the local government received their bond certificates totaling N1.6bn and N200m respectively.”

“A sum of N40 million was also released to fresh set of 400 pensioners in the state. The sum was paid to 148 retired secondary school teachers, 250 retired civil servants and 2 retired parastatals workers. Of the money, a sum of N25m, N14.8m and N200, 000 were paid to the retired civil servants, teachers and parastatals workers respectively.”

“With these interventions, it is out of place to say that the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola is insensitive to the plight of the pensioners. The protesting pensioners are out for cheap blackmail against the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola,” The Commissioner stated.