Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State said the state is owing 6,274 pensioners N26 billion in unpaid gratuities.
Makinde made the disclosure in Ibadan on Monday while presenting cheques to some of the beneficiaries of the N180 million gratuity for 2013 retirees.
He said his administration had been making efforts to offset the debt in spite of the limited sources of funds for the government.
“I gave you a promise that as our economy is getting expanded, so also we will be adding more to what we need to pay to pensioners to ensure that we shorten the period within which we can offset this debt,” he said.
He said that his administration remained committed to finishing whatever the previous administrations had left undone, including payments.
“When a child inherits fortune from his father, he will not reject it.
“In the same way, if he inherits debt, he is duty-bound to do something about it and that is what I just explained; we are doing something about it,” he said.
The governor said that those who had served diligently needed all the support they could get from the state.
” Ordinarily, the payment of gratuity to retirees should come immediately after retirement.
Despite the meagre resources available to the state, my administration will continue to bring relief to the entire workforce and its senior citizens.
“This symbolic presentation of cheques is for retirees who finished the processing of their retirement papers in 2013.
“In total, 82 of these retirees will be paid their full retirement benefits.
“Seven years is a long time for anyone who could not work to wait to get paid their benefits.
Source PM NEWS
