We can’t afford to pay you now, Amosun tells Ogun pensioners
http://www.gatewaymail.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Amosun.jpgNIGERIA: OGUN State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun on Tuesday dashed the hopes of pensioners in the state on the payment of their gratuities and pensions.
The governor said that with the fall in revenue accruing to the state, particularly from the Federation Account, his administration would be day-dreaming to promise the retirees that they would get their entitlements.
Amosun disclosed this at a meeting he held with the executive members of the Nigeria Union Pensioners (NUP), Ogun State Chapter at his Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta office.
The meeting, which lasted for over three hours, was convened at the instance of the governor over the cries of the pensioners on the non-payment of their gratuities, harmonization and non-remittance of contributory pension.
The governor emphasised that contributory pension was affected because it started off without any fund set aside for it by the government.
“I am not a magician,” Amosun said. “For me, the pension is low. The N18,000 minimum wage is not even enough, but for our pensioners even we can start with 10,000.”
He added: “But we have to face the reality on ground. Gratuity could only be paid if we could grow our Internally Generated Revenue.”
Amosun explained that despite the fact that the allocation accruing to the local governments from the Federation Account would arrive after Christmas day, he would work out the modalities to ensure all pensioners in the state are paid.
The governor gave the pensioners the breakdown of what accrues to the state from the Federation Account and compared it with the monthly statutory debts to settle, stressing that it would be impossible for government to pay their pending gratuities with the current economic status of the federation.
He stated that his government had paid the backlog of gratuities under the previous administration, while the N2.7 billion under him regime is still outstanding.
Earlier, Secretary of the NUP, Lawal and a senior retiree, Alhaji Sikiru Ayilara, highlighted the plights of the pensioners to the governor, while urging him to intervene quickly.
They appealed to the governor to end their sufferings by paying their pensions and gratuities as their lives depended only on the money, while stressing that the monthly pension was not even enough to take care of their families.
