Oyo pensioners sue Gov Ajimobi over N42.3bn unpaid gratuities, pensions

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo State council has dragged the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to the National Industrial Court over unpaid N42.3 billion in gratuities and pensions for retired primary school teachers and local government pensioners in the state. NUP’s state chairman, Mr. Gbadegesin Akande, disclosed this to Daily Trust in Ibadan, […]

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo State council has dragged the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to the National Industrial Court over unpaid N42.3 billion in gratuities and pensions for retired primary school teachers and local government pensioners in the state. NUP’s state chairman, Mr. Gbadegesin Akande, disclosed this to Daily Trust in Ibadan, the state capital. He said when former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala was leaving office on May 28, 2011, retired primary school teachers were owed only one month of pension and about N2.9 billion in unpaid gratuities and pensions.  “At the change of baton with the present (Ajimobi-led) government, payment of gratuities, pensions and death benefits became such a serious issue that the present administration alone owes the retired primary school teachers a whopping N27.5 billion.

“This humongous figure showed that government did not pay attention to the payment of gratuities and pensions of retired primary school teachers between 2011 and 2018. During this period, retired primary school teachers were paid in percentages of 8, 10, 32, 50 etc of their pensions. Aside 5-56 months of unpaid pension, retired primary school teachers have just been paid June 2017 pensions.”

Mr. Akande further added: “The wicked stance of not paying the retired primary school teachers and local government pensioners their entitlements from 2011 – 2018 by Senator Abiola Ajimobi’s government on an unsubstantiated allegation that they did not vote for him had raised the tally of government’s indebtedness to these two categories of pensioners to a whopping N42.3 billion.

“In a related development, Oyo State government also owed another N26 billion in gratuities and arrears of 6 percent and 15 percent to Oyo State pensioners and pensioners from tertiary institutions and parastatals,” he said.

He said that the union had written several letters and held several press conferences and protests to demand payment of pensions and gratuities from the state government but to no avail, saying the state government’s insensitivity to the plight of the retirees, necessitated the its  decision  to take Oyo State Government to court.

He said the case has been fixed for Thursday, July 12 at the National Industrial Court in Ibadan.