By Akeem Abas
Ibadan – The Oyo State Government on Tuesday said N880 million had been approved for payment to pensioners in the state.
It also expressed displeasure at the 14-day ultimatum given to it by the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP).
This was contained in a statement issued in Ibadan by Mr Bimbo Kolade, the state’s Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters.
The state government, it said, had on Friday approved the release of the N880million to retired local government pensioners across the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NUP had on Monday issued the ultimatum to the Ministry of Local Government to address the payment of entitlements.
The union called on the ministry to address the payment of gratuities and monthly pensions of retired primary school teachers and retired local government staff.
The NUP also said it may embark on picketing if the demands of members were not met.
But the commissioner, in his statement, said funds for payment of the backlog of pension arrears were already approved.
He said the approval was given during the monthly Joint Account Allocation Committee meeting held with all the caretaker chairmen of local government councils in the state.
“Facts and figures I have with me from the Local Government Staff Pensions Board indicates that Governor Abiola Ajimobi has approved the sum of N880 million for the payment.
“The said amount is meant for the payment of arrears owed retired local government Primary School teachers and local government retirees,’’ he said in the statement.
The statement condemned the ultimatum given by the state chapter of NUP, describing it as mischievous, baseless and unacceptable.
It said that the 14-day ultimatum was unnecessary as funds had already been approved for the purpose.
The statement assured local government retirees of the administration’s commitment to their welfare through prompt payment of their entitlements.
It implored them to ensure that they attended the ongoing verification exercise being carried out by the Pensions Board.
The statement said the verification exercise had assisted in discovering about 400 names of pensioners whose gratuities had data issues.
“We appeal to labour leaders in the state to always embrace dialogue rather than confrontation on the pages of newspaper,’’ it said.