EKSG restates commitment to pensioners’ welfare
By Victor Akinkuolie
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Ekiti State Government has restated its commitment to ameliorate the plight of pensioners in the state and plans to design ways to clear unpaid gratuities that had accumulated over the years.
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who disclosed this during a meeting with the executive members of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), at the weekend, decried the hardship pensioners are passing through as a result of non-payment of their gratuities and irregular payment of pension.
The pensioners led by their chairman Elder Ayo Kumapayi, had paid the Governor a visit to congratulate him on the recent Court of Appeal’s victory and to thank him for the regular payment of their pensions monthly since October 2018.
The Governor said his administration has put a temporary measure on ground through a 1000 percent increase in the fund meant for gratuity payment monthly, from N10 million to N100 million monthly in order to capture more pensioners in the process, adding that he would ensure that he continues to meet government obligations to pensioners.
Dr Fayemi said that the welfare of pensioners had always remained a top priority of his administration, stressing that the retirees deserve timely payment of their entitlements for the selfless services they had rendered to the state and the nation at large.
According to him “The three areas that you highlighted, we would take a further look at it, if the six percent and 15 percent were stopped in February 2015 soon after we left, we would take a further look at it.
“I wish we can reinstate that within the limited resources available to government. I will discuss with the Head of Service and we will see precisely what the situation is and we will try and meet you on your request as far as that one is concerned.
Governor Fayemi also restated the resolve of his administration to establish recreational facilities for the elderly where the issue of their health would be taken care of by the state through the Health Insurance Scheme that will soon commence.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Ekiti state branch, Chief Ayo Kumapayi said the purpose of the visit was to felicitate with the Governor on his victory at the Appeal Court as well as appreciate him for the various supports Ekiti pensioners have received from his administration so far.
Kumapayi commended the government for prompt payment of pension allowances and approval of immediate increase in the monthly gratuity fund from 10million naira to 100 million naira monthly, which has allowed for more retirees to be catered for every month.
He appealed to government to support the pensioners by establishing a wellness centre for elderly retirees to enable them live long after retirement.
