The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, announced the increment of the quarterly payment of pension to N1bn on Monday.
The development was to offset the backlog of pensions and gratuities arrears in the state.
The governor stated this while addressing pensioners at an interactive session held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, on Monday.
According to the governor, the current administration met arrears of over N80bn and had since developed ways of defraying them.
He said, “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 disclosed that no gratuity was paid from 2012 until he assumed office in 2019.
He however announced an increment of N15,000 for pensioners who were previously collecting N5,000 monthly pension, wondering how people would survive with such a paltry amount of money at the present difficult time.
He added that his administration had devised various ways, including providing needed infrastructure, security and creating an enabling environment for more investments aimed at increasing the state’s Internally Generated Revenue.
Speaking earlier, the State Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Alhaji Waheed Oloyede, had urged the state government to increase the monthly pension of those still collecting N5,000, just as the N600m quarterly payment for pension was inadequate to pay gratuities.
While calling for the review of pensions in the state in line with what is available at the federal level, Oloyede called for a regular interface between the pensioners and the state government to enable them to solve any impending issues.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Local Government Pensioners Association, Pastor Ademoye, appreciated the governor for giving due attention to issues relating to pensioners and assured the governor of their support at all times.
