Adebayo Adenrele
The Pensioners Association of Nigeria (PAN), Ekiti State Chapter, on Tuesday unveiled its new Secretariat along Bank road, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.
The Association, comprises members from ten local government areas in the state as well as parastatals such as Housing Corporation, Water Corporation, Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES), among others.
Speaking with journalists, the Chairman of the Association, Comrade Joel Akinola attributed their decision to split from Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) to alleged irregularities, constitutional breaches, zero priorities to pensioners’ welfare, among others.
He hailed the Governor of the State, Biodun Oyebanji for his incessant intervention in the needs of pensioners, citing his laudable action by reducing payment of gratuity from N48bn to N21bn, within his two years in office.
Akinola thereby appealed to the governor to increase pensioners’ N50,000 monthly pension, saying the amount no more reflect the current economic realities of the country.
His words, “We want to thank God for this day, it’s just a wonderful day especially in the lives of pensioners.
“Things have been made standstill concerning Pensioners for the past 8 months and that’s not in tandem with the aspirations and interest of the state governor who is concerned about the welfare of pensioners because he sees us as his fathers and mothers.
“Because of this unnecessary rangling, misoperation of positions, things have not been working well and we think our people should not remain suffering in the midst of the good interest of the governor, that’s why this association comes up through the provision of Freedom of Association.
“If those on the other side are only concerned about their interest rather than the majority of the pensioners, we feel we should not allow our people to die without fulfilling and meeting their expectations in life, that’s why we created this association.
“We are at the mercy of the government, we can not afford not to be in support and crave for the interest of the government, we can’t be biting the finger that’s feeding us.
“We have 16 local governments in Ekiti State and we have 10 local governments under the association now, we also have five parastatals which include Housing Corporation, Water Corporation, BSES and two others.
“We have registered the association, we have communicated with the government and we have been recognised.
“Oyebanji has done more than what anybody has ever done in the state for Pensioners. All the arrears of pensions for seven months, he cleared everything.
“He reduced our gratuity from 48bn naira to 21bn naira within two years. We can’t repay him by unnecessary rangling, we are not satisfied with the current situation of our members, we want welfare package to improve.
“N50,000 naira is not enough for any pensioners anymore, go to the market today and everything is finished without even including health management”.
Speaking with some members of the association, Chief Adelugba expressed his happiness at the new association, saying this would enable the leadership to move pensioners in the state forward.
Mrs Funsho James described Comrade Akinola as a hardworking individual, while also exuding confidence in his capacity to fight for the rights of pensioners in the state.
