Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, reassured workers, pensioners, and other residents of his commitment to the welfare of the masses, especially workers, and pensioners in the state.
He explained that his administration under two years has paid almost seventy percent of backlogs to Osun pensioners than twelve years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
The Governor made this known on Monday while addressing pensioners of the state at the presentation of bond cheques to Osun contributory pensioners held in Abere to celebrate his two years in office.
According to Governor Adeleke, “Today, we are gathered here for the distribution of bond cheques to our contributory pensioners.
“As part of our determination to settle pension indebtedness, today we are paying out a total sum of One Billion, Nine Hundred and Ninety Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eight Seven Naira (N1,999, 908,887.33). This is a combination for both state and local governments.
“I am happy to inform our senior citizens and the general public about what each administration from former Governor Rauf Aregbesola to date has paid in the pension sector.
While commenting on efforts of the previous administrations on the payment of entitlements to pensioners Governor Adeleke said “Former Governor Aregbesola’s payment as of 2018 was a total sum of Seventeen Billion, One Hundred and Fifty-Two Million, Six Hundred and Sixty-Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty One Naira (N17,152,662,351.26).
“Former Governor Oyetola’s payment as at 2022 was a total sum of Seventeen Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty-Five Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eight Naira (N17,255,424,708.51).
“The total for the two previous administrations under 12 years was Thirty-Four Billion, Four Hundred and Eight Million, Eighty-Seven Thousand and Fifty Naira Naira (N34,408,087,059.77).
He noted that his administration in the last two years has paid the sum of Twenty-Two Billion, Six Hundred Seventy-One Million, Two Hundred and Seventeen Thousand, Eight Hundred and Ninety-Three Naira (N22,671,217,893.24).
According to the Governor, “Our administration paid almost 70 percent under two years of what the former APC administration paid under 12 years.
“We added a life-changing policy, the enrolment of pensioners in the health insurance scheme. This has eased access to health care for our senior citizens. Our love, care, and support for pensioners is therefore not a political gimmick. It is about doing the right thing.
“As much as we still have a lot of ground to cover, we have started on a strong note. We have proved to our elderly people that we are with them and that we seriously care about their wellbeing.
“Other outstanding issues in the pension sector are to be looked into. The Head of Service is mandated to compile a list of other unresolved issues facing pensioners, especially areas they still want our government to focus on. This will further ensure adequate state response to areas of need.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, our dear senior citizens, we are ensuring attention to all sectors within a tight financial situation.”
The governor, however, lamented that the dwindling value of Naira has negatively affected the actual value of the state fund including the less than 20 percent increment in federal allocation.
“The consequence is that what we earn today as a state is less in value compared to what was obtained under the previous administration.
“Despite the situation, our administration has delivered across the sectors. The leadership of the pension union is invited to the town hall meeting held by Wednesday for detailed accountability and scorecard.”
(Osun Reporters)
