The Nigeria Union of Pensioners has expressed optimism that the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, will clear the state’s pensioners debt summing-up to about N172 billion.
The union, through its state secretary, Dele Aina, commended Adeleke for prioritizing the welfare of retirees since his assumption of office in November 2022.
Currently, Osun state is indebted to the tune of about N172 billion pensions which includes contributory pensions, the half salary of old pensioners, and the implementation of an N18,000 minimum wage.
The former governor, Rauf Aregbesola, reportedly owed the pension which was inherited by his successor, Adegboyega Oyetola, who then passed same to the Adeleke-led administration.
The inability of Oyetola to offset the pensions during his regime led to disagreement with the pensioners in the state.
However, The Sun reported that Aina noted that Adeleke had promised before the election to pay off the debt, assuring that he (Adeleke) will accede to their demand and offset the arrears as soon as possible.
Aina said, “Our agreement during the campaign, he should make sure that he fulfills them. We expect him to call us to a roundtable. If we sit together and deliberate, we would know how they want to be paying it. This is our government and we must not fight them.
“It is about N172 billion with 2011/2022 pensioners, old gratuity, implementation of N18,000 minimum wage, and half salary of old pensioners. The governor has started in a little way but it is not enough.”