Oyo Pensioners Demand Continuity in Welfare Reforms As Adekanmbi Pledges Support

Pensioners in Oyo State have said they are unwilling to return to the era of unpaid pensions and gratuities, citing improved welfare under the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde.

The pensioners made the position known during an interactive session with the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, at the Pension House, Agbarigo, Ibadan.

Adekanmbi, while addressing the retirees, pledged to sustain and improve on the welfare measures introduced by the Makinde administration if elected governor.

He assured the pensioners that his government would prioritise the prompt payment of pensions and gratuities, adding that he would maintain regular engagement with retirees to address issues affecting their welfare.

The APM candidate said his consultations across the state had enabled him to understand the needs and expectations of different groups, including pensioners.

“I have moved round the state on three occasions since my emergence as the candidate of our party. I have interacted with various segments of society, noted their requests and documented my promises, which I call my charter with the people,” he said.

Adekanmbi described the welfare of senior citizens as a priority, noting that the current administration had established a standard he intended to maintain and improve upon.

“It is a matter of compulsion for me to ensure the well-being of our pensioners. Seyi Makinde has raised the bar, and I have no choice but to continue with what is on ground and attempt to raise the bar further,” he said.

He also promised to maintain regular consultations with pensioners to obtain first-hand information about their challenges.

“As governor, I assure you that I will not be far away from you. Whatever I cannot do, I will not promise you,” he added.

On the payment of pensions, Adekanmbi pledged to sustain the existing arrangement under which retirees receive their monthly pension alerts on or before the 25th of each month.

He said the timely payment of salaries and pensions would not only improve the welfare of beneficiaries but also support commercial activities across the state.

“I am standing before you today to make a pledge that under the government of Bimbo Adekanmbi, pensioners will not suffer. All your dues shall be promptly paid,” he said.

Earlier, the Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo State Council, Comrade Olusegun Abatan, recalled the difficulties pensioners faced before Makinde assumed office.

Abatan said pensioners endured years of delayed payments and inadequate monthly benefits before the current administration introduced measures to improve their welfare.

“Your Excellency, for 16 years before Engineer Seyi Makinde came on board, life had been short, brutish and frustrating for pensioners in Oyo State. Pensions were not paid as and when due, and constitutional provisions for pension increases whenever workers’ salaries were reviewed were flagrantly disobeyed,” he said.

He added that some pensioners received as little as N350 or N1,000 monthly during the period.

According to him, the Makinde administration raised the minimum monthly pension in the state to N25,000, effective from January 2025.

Abatan said the improvements recorded under the present administration had made it necessary for pensioners to seek assurances from governorship candidates on the future of pension payments and retirees’ welfare.

He said pensioners had enjoyed seven and a half years of regular pension payments and efforts to clear outstanding gratuities inherited from previous administrations.

“The saying on the lips of Oyo State pensioners, having enjoyed seven and a half years of unbroken peace, prompt payment of pensions and the clearing of unpaid gratuities left by past administrations, is that they don’t want to go back to ‘Egypt’,” Abatan said.

He explained that the expression represented their opposition to a return to unpaid pensions and gratuities, percentage-based pension payments and the indignity of being labelled “dead but alive”.

The NUP secretary further said pensioners constituted a significant voting bloc, with an estimated population of 50,000 members, alongside their dependants.

Abatan said the union’s members were prepared to support any governorship candidate whose programme adequately addressed their interests and welfare.

The statement was signed by Yinka Oladoyinbo, Director of Communication and Spokesperson of the Oyo State APM Governorship Campaign Council.