Not among the Southwest States Owing N330Bn is Lagos

Pensioners in the Southwest geopolitical zone are owed N330 billion in pensions and gratuities by all states save Lagos State.

At the conclusion of its zonal meeting on Wednesday in Ibadan, the Southwest Zone of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) issued the pronouncement.

At the conclusion of the meeting, its spokesman, Dr. Olusegun Abatan, told reporters that Osun led the debtor states with N145 billion in unpaid pensions and gratuities.

According to him, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s term as governor of the state compounded the problem of unpaid pension arrears and gratuities in Osun.

He said that since Aregbesola departed the governor’s office, nothing had changed.

According to Abatan, the states of Ondo, Ogun, and Ekiti owe, respectively, N58 billion, N55 billion, and N40 billion.

He claimed that before Governor Seyi Makinde entered office in May 2019, Oyo State owing N43 billion.

He said that out of the N43 billion owing by his predecessors, Makinde had paid around N11 billion.

Abatan added that because Lagos State was the first to adopt the Contributory Pension Scheme, it did not fall under the category of debtor states.

He continued by saying that Lagos State pensioners were also fortunate to have responsible government officials who take pensioners’ concerns seriously.

He claimed that the union had ordered every NUP council to meet with their respective governors and to engage in negotiations about how to reduce and settle the arrears, as well as, if necessary, to appear in court.

In the upcoming general elections in 2023, Abatan urged NUP members in the geopolitical region to exercise wise voting and choose candidates who would work to address the problems facing pensioners.