Fidelis David in Akure
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, yesterday flagged off the payment of N3.82 billion gratuities to 985 retirees of the state public service, covering the 2020 batch and outstanding beneficiaries from 2015 to 2019.
The beneficiaries comprise 509 retirees from the 2020 batch and 476 from the 2015–2019 batches, drawn from the mainstream civil service, secondary school teaching and non-teaching staff, and parastatals across the state.
Governor Aiyedatiwa described the exercise as “a debt of honour being discharged” to those who devoted their productive years to the service of Ondo State.
The governor said his administration inherited billions of naira in outstanding gratuity obligations covering the period from 2015 to date, but confronted the burden with courage and responsibility.
“When our administration came to the saddle, we inherited billions of Naira in outstanding gratuity obligations covering the period from 2015 to date. We did not shy away from this burden. Rather, we confronted it with courage, responsibility and a clear understanding that governance is not only about initiating new projects; it is equally about confronting inherited challenges and resolving them,” he said.
Governor Aiyedatiwa said his administration had successfully defrayed outstanding gratuities for 2015 to 2019, describing Wednesday’s exercise as “another giant step forward.”
“Today, we are taking another giant step forward with the flag-off of payment to retirees of the year 2020. We give all glory to Almighty God for the grace and enablement to fulfil this important obligation,” he said.
The governor said the exercise was not merely a financial intervention but a demonstration of his administration’s appreciation of those who had devoted their productive years to the service of the Sunshine State.
“We remember your service; we respect your sacrifice; and we will not forget your entitlement,” he said.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Ondo State Pension Transition Office, Dr Peter Akingbade, disclosed that retirees from the 2015 Batch C, 2016 Batch C, 2017 Batch C, 2018 Batch B, 2019 Batch B and 2020 Batch A were being paid and were already receiving bank alerts.
Akingbade said the beneficiaries would receive their full gratuity entitlements rather than partial payments, describing the development as a milestone that would bring relief, dignity and renewed hope to retirees.
He attributed the payment to Governor Aiyedatiwa’s commitment to improving the welfare of senior citizens under the administration’s OUR EASE agenda.
Akingbade commended the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Omowunmi Isaac, for her strategic contribution and the Head of Service, Sir Segun Odusanya, for his dedication to retirees’ welfare under the Defined Benefit Scheme.
Akingbade added that Aiyedatiwa had shown that leadership is about compassion and commitment to putting smiles on citizens’ faces, while praying that God would continue to protect the governor and members of his cabinet and grant them greater accomplishments.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Nike Ogunbodede, appreciated the governor for the gesture, describing it as a remarkable development that had never been witnessed in the state.
The state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Johnson Osunyemi, appreciated the governor, saying Ondo State is among the leading states in the country in clearing the backlog of gratuities owed to retired workers.