Aiyedatiwa Flags Off N3.82bn Gratuity Payment to 985 Ondo Retirees
… pledges to clear inherited arrears before end of tenure
By Roseline Okakah
Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has flagged off the payment of N3.82 billion in gratuities to 985 retirees of the state public service, covering the 2020 batch and outstanding beneficiaries from 2015 to 2019.
Contained in a press statement issued by the Press Secretary to the Governor of Ondo State, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, 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, as well as parastatals across the state.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony held at the Cocoa Conference Centre, Governor’s Office, Alagbaka, Akure, Aiyedatiwa described the exercise as “a debt of honour being discharged” to workers who devoted their productive years to the service of Ondo State.
The governor said his administration inherited billions of naira in outstanding gratuity obligations dating back to 2015, but had 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.
Aiyedatiwa said his administration had successfully defrayed outstanding gratuities for 2015 to 2019, describing the commencement of payment to the 2020 retirees 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 also 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 had already started 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 the welfare of retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme.
The Permanent Secretary said the gratuity payment process was continuous, urging retirees yet to be verified to come forward and complete their documentation.
He congratulated the beneficiaries, describing the occasion as historic and saying it demonstrated that the administration had placed the welfare of the people first.
Akingbade added that Aiyedatiwa had shown that leadership was 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.
In his vote of thanks, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Johnson Osunyemi, commended the governor, saying Ondo State was among the leading states in the country in clearing the backlog of gratuities owed to retired workers.
In attendance were the Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami; Secretary to the State Government, Dr Taiwo Fasoranti; State Chairman of the APC, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde; Chief of Staff, Prince Segun Omojuwa; Head of Service, Mr Segun Odusanya; members of the State Executive Council; State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Clement Fatuase; State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ademola Olapade; Director-General, OSRC Media Group, Mr Kenneth Stevenson-Odusola; Permanent Secretaries; political appointees; among others.
