The government of the State of Osun has presented Bond certificates worth over N 1.6 billion to 234 retirees from the state civil service who participated in the Contributory Pension Scheme while in service.
Governor, Rauf Aregbesola represented by the Permanent Secretary, Local Government Pension Bureau, Mr Kayode Afolabi presented the certificates at the Local Government Service Commission Multipurpose Hall, Government Secretariat, Osogbo during the week. According to Afolabi, the formal presentation marked the fifth batch of the pension bond certificate distribution to the retirees by the state government in compliance with the contributory pension scheme.
Out of the 234 beneficiaries, 137 were drawn from Primary Schools while 97 retirees were drawn from the local government service. Afolabi explained that the presentation of the total N1,682,261,706.75 was a confirmation of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s commitment to the welfare of the retirees, adding that the governor is highly sensitive to the plight of the pensioners, who have served the state meritoriously.
He added that despite the paucity of fund, the governor has promised to ensure that the bond certificate will be a continuous exercise to ameliorate the suffering of the pensioners and assured that all the retiree will collect their legitimate earnings. The permanent secretary admonished beneficiaries to make judicious use of their earnings. The pension bureau had earlier organised a brief seminar about the bond for the beneficiaries to have a better understanding of the disbursement process and conditions attached to the bond in accordance with the contributory regulation policies.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr. Mukaila Adedeji commended the state governor for his determination to put smiles on the face of retirees despite the daunting economic realities. A contributory pension scheme is a federal and state governments policy adopted to assist civil servants in saving for retirement and old age.