Kwara Retirees Lament Unpaid Pension and Gratuities, the State Government Releases N100 million.
Pensioners in Kwara state have commended the State Government for releasing a sum of N100 million as first tranche to the state pension board for settlement of backlog of arrears of gratuity to beneficiaries in the state.
In a statement issued at the end of the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the state branch of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in Ilorin on Friday, the chairman of the union, Comrade Oladimeji Saidu, said that the plights of pensioners in the state public service had lingered since 2014, while that of local government staff pensioners had lingered since 2008 to date.
“The union, therefore, urged the state governor to let his hand of concern for the plight of pensioners be extended to local government and LGEA pensioners under the administration of local government staff pension board, who like the state public service pensioners are languishing in a state of ‘complete neglect’ in the last 11 years in Kwara state.
The CWC appealed to the governor to make this beautiful gesture of allocation for settlement of backlog of arrears of gratuity in the state a continuous thing until the total liquidation of the backlog of gratuity payment is met by the two Kwara state government institutions handling the welfare service of pensioners.
The allocation of the N100 million for the settlement of the backlog of arrears of gratuity to the Kwara State Retirees is coming shortly after the retirees under the umbrella of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUT) lamented hardship caused by nonpayment of their arrears of pension by the authorities.
Speaking when the state chairman of the union, Comrade Saidu Oladimeji, met with NUP members in Offa, Offa local government area of the state during state tour of all local government areas on Wednesday, the pensioners called on the leadership of the union to find a prompt solution to their plight.
The chairman and his entourage, who were warmly received by the members, were also urged to find a solution to such problems as regular payment of their monthly pension, payment of members’ 10-year gratuities, arrears of the monthly pension and stoppage of percentage monthly pension.