Ekiti State News
Pensioners Suffering & Dying In Ekiti As Fayose Refuses To Pay Their Pensions & Gratuities
October 30, 2017 – Pensioners Suffering & Dying In Ekiti As Fayose Refuses To Pay Their Pensions & Gratuities
7 pensioners have died in Ekiti State in the last two weeks following the hardship they faced with non-payment of their pensions and gratuities, it was learnt yesterday.
At their monthly meeting yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the council’s pensioners urged Governor Ayo Fayose to pay their eight-month pension arrears.
They also urged the governor to pay them their gratuities, which had not been paid in the last five years.
The pensioners regretted that the situation had caused them untold hardship.
Acting under the aegis of Concerned Local Government Pensioners’ Forum, the pensioners expressed shock over the spate of deaths of retirees who could not take care of themselves.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the forum’s Protem Coordinator, Alhaji Quadri Oguntuase, and Secretary, Mr. Biodun Agboola, the agitated pensioners urged the state government to accord pensioners’ welfare utmost priority.
The communique gave the names of the seven pensioners who died in the last two weeks as: Mr. J. O. Ojo, Mr. Adedayo Ojo, Mrs. Modupe Aribisala, Mr. Abegunde, Mr. Ogunleye, Mrs. Adelugba and Alhaji Abdullahi.
The retirees observed a minute’s silence in honour of the seven, who attended last month’s meeting.
The forum reminded the state government that local government pensioners had only been paid up till February, “contrary to the state government’s pronouncement in the media”.
Addressing reporters at the end of the meeting, Oguntuase expressed dismay at the condition of the retirees who he said served diligently in their prime but dumped to poverty and hardship in their latter years.
He said:
“The situation has become unbearable for us and we have no option than to cry to for world to know that pensioners are suffering in Ekiti.
“The rate at which we are dying is alarming. Imagine the harvest of deaths in the last two weeks! Seven of our members died within the period and the situation was caused by non-payment of our benefits.
“It’s because our monthly pensions are not paid. Many of us lack the money to eat and to take care of our families. The denial of our rights has made many of us to become irresponsible fathers and husbands at home. In fact, many of those who died had no money to buy drugs to manage their ailments or to take themselves to hospitals. Things are as bad as that.
“We want the state government to pay us our pensions and gratuities. We believe it is not an offence to diligently serve our fatherland. The government should not watch while we suffer, because our entitlements are our rights. We should not be denied of them.”
[The News]
DB
October 31, 2017 at 10:57 AM
Ah, his car just got burnt. He will replace that bcos that will be on his priority list. He has no eyes nor ears to see or hear any of you. Ekiti wanted Fayose and they have him. Even Nigeria hasnt recovered from the money wasted on Ekiti election that produced Fayose
Jilo
October 31, 2017 at 5:09 PM
To be honest with Ekiti people, they have to share some the blame of their Governor inefficiency in paying their Pendion/Gratitude because they have shared some Rice and Ankara instead of staging a protest. They cannot come up now to challenge Fayose because he has used that money and diverte it for something else’s.
This is the time we can really test this Governor’s ability whether he can truly govern or not. A good governor should be able to source money from other area and diversify to sustain the less privileged especially the old folks who cannot engage in stressful job to sustain themselves. Fayose should have kept focusing how to solve the issue of pension in his state instead of talking evil about Buhari. Despite the fact that Buhari has bailed out most of these governors, some of them are still finding it difficult to pay the innocent citizens.
To some people who think Fayose is very vocal, he is fearless, he is not afraid to speak out. Now, he can’t do any of those to ensure that his people get paid. My question to Fayose is, what is the essence of your fearlessly if the people you are campaigning for are dying everyday because your inept behavior to provide basic need for their survival?. Does this man understand what it meant to go to bed hungry? It’s better for this man to resign his position than watching the poor pensioners dying of hunger everyday under his watch.