133 senior citizens found hypertensive out of 346 screened
Govt moves to enroll 20,000 retirees into Health Insurance Scheme
By Jubril Bada
The Ondo State Contributory Health Commission has revealed alarming health statistics from its recent medical outreach conducted during the verification exercise for pensioners across the three senatorial districts of the state.
Speaking with The Hope, Mrs. Precious Akinwumi, Director of Occupational Health at the Commission, said her team attended to 346 pensioners, comprising 201 males and 145 females.
She disclosed, “Out of those tested, 133 were hypertensive, while only 12 were diabetic.
“The medical outreach was carried out on the invitation of the Pension Transitional Department, with the goal of promoting preventive healthcare among senior citizens.”
Beyond screening for blood pressure and sugar levels, the team also educated pensioners on healthy lifestyle habits.
“I personally advised them to eat more fruits and vegetables, drink 2 to 3 litres of water daily, rest properly and sleep at least seven to eight hours per night. Nobody can cheat nature,” she said.
Mrs Akinwumi emphasised that many elderly people unknowingly live with chronic conditions, and such outreach programmes help them detect health issues early.
She added that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa places healthcare as a cardinal priority, stressing that the ultimate goal is to bring every resident, formal and informal, under the state’s health insurance scheme.
“Our target is 100 percent coverage. Everyone living in Ondo State must be under health insurance,” he declared.
Speaking on the development, Mrs. Aderonke Ibitoye, Director of Business Development and Client Relations at the Commission, said the agency has plans to integrate pensioners across the state into the government’s health insurance scheme following the recently concluded verification exercise for members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the state.
She explained that the initiative was carried out in collaboration with the Pension Transitional Department (PTD), which handled the verification of retired civil servants.
She said the Commission’s focus was to ensure that senior citizens are not left out of the state’s healthcare safety net.
“We have formal and informal sector health insurance schemes, and the pensioners fall under the informal sector plan. After leaving service, they should not be left vulnerable. They must transition into a health insurance system that protects them from catastrophic medical expenses,” she stated.
According to her, over 20,000 pensioners across local government and state service cadres were sensitised across the three senatorial districts, with many already indicating readiness to join the scheme.
On concerns over bedridden or absent pensioners who could not participate physically, Ibitoye said the Commission expects the NUP executives to help enroll such persons once premiums are paid.
She explained that while proxies were not allowed for verification, the Next-of-Kin of certain pensioners submitted documents on their behalf, and further tracking will be done when the insurance enrolment phase begins.
“We have a robust software system that prevents duplication. Once they come on board officially, every beneficiary is tracked individually,” she added.
She assured that the engagement with pensioners would be ongoing, describing the initiative as a continuous collaboration between the state government, NUP executives, and the Health Commission.
“Health insurance is the only way to go. It saves us from out-of-pocket spending. I appeal to pensioners, market women, transport workers, civil servants, and political office holders if you are not yet registered, this is the time to come on board,” she urged.
Also, the Permanent Secretary of the State Pension Transitional Department, Chief Bunmi Alade disclosed that over 70 percent of its pensioners have been successfully verified in the just concluded statewide pension audit, with plans underway to transition the screening process to an electronic, six-month cycle to weed out ghost beneficiaries and update records more efficiently.
According to him, the verification was conducted by an independent consultant, while the state only provided logistical support.
“Some are abroad, so we can’t give a specific number yet, but reasonably, more than 70 percent have been verified,” he said.
Contrary to widespread fears, Alade confirmed that no ghost pensioners have been uncovered so far, noting that only those who physically appeared for verification were captured.
However, he stressed that because many retirees are aged, natural cases of death occur regularly, making continuous clean-up necessary.
To solve this, Alade said the state is working on a digital platform that will allow pensioners to verify themselves online using BVN and biometrics, eliminating the need for physical appearances.
“By the next phase, they won’t need to travel. Verification will be done online through their phones or at nearby TCO offices. Every six months, the system will automatically detect those who are no longer active,” he explained.
He commended the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) executives for mobilising retirees statewide and revealed that each pensioner who completed the verification received ₦5,000 from the state government through consultants, the first time such gesture has been recorded in the state.
He commended the Aiyedatiwa’s administration for prioritising health sector and support to the verification exercise for pensioners to enjoy health service delivery of the state contributory health scheme.
Despite the smooth process, Alade made a passionate appeal to the state government to release more funds for payment of gratuities, lamenting that arrears from 2015 and 2016 are still pending.
He urged urgent bulk payments, warning that with declining life expectancy in Nigeria “now less than 50” many pensioners may die before enjoying the benefits of their service.