Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, on Saturday brought joy to the faces of retirees by distributing gratuity cheques to the tune of N3.5 billion on a day they were marking this year’s edition of Pensioners’ Day.
At the ceremony which was marked at the Great Eagle Hall, Ikere Road, Ado Ekiti, over 500 pensioners benefitted from the latest tranche of payment with N2.3 billion gratuity paid to state pensioners while local government pensioners got N1.2 billion gratuity.
With the payment of gratuity to the latest batch of pensioners, Governor Oyebanji’s commitment to defraying of outstanding gratuity has seen the backlog cleared to March 2015 up from payment up to 2012 he met on assumption of office in October, 2022.
The gesture drew a deafening applause from the appreciative pensioners inside the hall who prayed for the Governor and expressed their readiness to keep him in office with their votes at the next governorship election describing him as a “pensioners-friendly Governor and “elders-friendly Governor”.
At the event, the retirees, through the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Pensioners ,NUP, Ekiti State Chapter, Mr. Joel Akinola, took time to reel out lots of goodies that pensioners have so far enjoyed from the Oyebanji Administration in the last two years.
Governor Oyebanji also assured on the readiness of his administration to commence the implementation of the new minimum wage of N70,000 which he described as a law that must be obeyed. He, however, noted that a little delay is being experienced in the state owing to the need to capture pensioners, teachers, state workers and local government workers together.
The Governor said: “On the payment of your gratuity, I don’t think I have done anything spectacular. You are my parents and it is only a bastard that will not treat his parents well. My late mum died as a pensioner and my father who is at home is one of you.
“Whatever we are doing for you is not a favour, it’s your right because you worked for it. It is my desire that you are alive to collect your gratuity and every other entitlement that is due to you. Out of the three months arrears of local government pensioners, I have approved one month and we will deal with the remaining two months.
“As at date our administration had paid the sum of Five Billion, Four Hundred Million (N5,400,000,000) to One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Six (1,796) State Pensioners and the sum of Two Billion, One Hundred and Seventy Nine Million, One Hundred and Ten Thousand, forty Six Kobo (N2,179,110,000.46) to Eight Hundred and Ninety One (891) pensioners at the Local Government level.
“Today, I will be flagging off additional payment of Two Billion, Three Hundred Million Naira (N2.3b) to State Pensioners and One Billion, Two Hundred Million Naira (N1.2b) to Local Government Pensioners totalling Three Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira (N3.5b). This is another demonstration of our administration’s commitment to your welfare. I urge you to continuously pray for the success of this administration so that we shall continue to do more for you”.
