Oyo govt lied over amount paid teachers, LG pensioners – Union

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has described as a ‘blatant lie’ the N9.7billion allegedly released by the Oyo State Government to pay pensions of retired teachers and local government workers in the state. The chairman of NUP in the state, Pa. Gbadegesin Akande, disclosed this while reacting to a recent announcement by the state […]

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has described as a ‘blatant lie’ the N9.7billion allegedly released by the Oyo State Government to pay pensions of retired teachers and local government workers in the state.

The chairman of NUP in the state, Pa. Gbadegesin Akande, disclosed this while reacting to a recent announcement by the state commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon. Bimbo Kolade, that N9.7 billion had been released by the Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration to pay salaries of workers in the LGs and retired primary school teachers and LG staff.

Pa. Akande said the N9.7billion purportedly released was an accumulation of three months allocations from the Federal Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC) kept in custody by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters for reasons best known to them while workers and pensioners who were supposed to be paid were left to suffer.

He added that only about N439 million was disbursed to retired primary school teachers in the state as at June 2017 pension out of the alleged N9.7 billion the government claimed it released.

The NUP chairman said while the state government had paid workers’ salaries for the months of March and April 2018, the Ministry of Local Government recently disbursed only March salaries, emphasising that the ministry did not pay workers and pensioners at the prompt release of federal allocations.

He noted that retired primary school teachers and local government pensioners in the state are still being owed 5-56 months pensions (few months for teachers and several months for local government pensioners) and gratuities running to N42.3 billion.

He further accused the state government of subjecting its retired primary school teachers and local government pensioners to misery and poverty, adding that it has refused to pay them any gratuities since Senator Ajimobi became governor in 2011