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Workers’ Day: Ogun pensioners invoke spirituals, plan strike over N68bn unpaid gratuities

Ogun State Pensioners Protesting

*The Ogun State Branch of Nigeria Union of Pensioners laments the members’ ordeals, declares it will take the Ogun State Government 34 years to offset their unpaid N68billion gratuities

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

Pensioners in Ogun State of Nigeria have organised a day’s interdenominational prayer session to further press home their demands for the unpaid N68billion gratuities and pensions.

ConsumerConnect gathered the affected pensioners had accused Governor (Prince) Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State of being insensitive to their plights, whom they alleged has not returned all correspondence hitherto sent to him for action.

Governor (Prince) Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State

Comrade Waheed Oloyede, Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Ogun State Branch, told reporters that the union resolved to invoke the spirituals to change the mind of the Governor.

Oloyede also stated: “We have written series of letter, we have sent people that we think can assist, but there is no response and we’ve decided that now, we will send God to him until the government of Ogun State have a listening hear to us. That is the purpose of this gathering.”

He as well enumerated four demands of the pensioners in Ogun State to include increase in the pensioners monthly take home;  increase in the quarterly release of gratuity from N500million to N1billion; release of their deducted Contributory Pensions to their respective Pensions Fund Administrator (PFAs), as well as the constitution of the Pensions Committee which will administer the affairs of their union.

Lamenting the ordeals of members of the union in the state, Oloyede said it would take the state government a period of 34 years to offset the N68billion gratuities.

“According to the Federal Government constitution, the pension is supposed to increase every five years or whenever they increase the salary of workers but in Ogun state it has not been done.

“They’ve increase the salaries of workers more than four times but up till now, they have not increase the pension in Ogun State and we have sent the circular from the Federal Government because the increase in pension send by the federal government was as a result of National minimum wage, and the National minimum wage was above for the workers of Ogun State.

“In November, 2020 up till now, the pension has not been increase,” said he.

Comrade Oloyede also said: “But at the meeting we had with representative of the state government last week Wednesday, they promised that it will be increased and that we should give them till the end of May, 2022 and that is why we are doing this gathering.

“So we are calling on them that if they don’t then the Pensioners Fund Administrator (PFA) will not be able to pay them when they go. Therefore, we appeal that they should do something.”

The Ogun State Chairman of NUP, however, said that his members would not hesitate from staging an open protest to occupy the main roads in Abeokuta metropolis should the state government fail to meet up with their demands at the end of May 2022.

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