Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun Inherits N32b Gratuities

Ogun State government on Monday said it inherited N32.8 billion gratuities and death benefits incurred between August 2011 and June 2019 under its Transition Pension Scheme.

The state lamented that the debt piled up during the previous administration, but said the new government would offset the bills.

Permanent Secretary in the Bureau of Local Government Pensions Mrs. Irene Kokumo spoke while hosting members of the House of Assembly’s Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

Kokumo said the state pays an average of N791 million to retired local government workers and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) retirees monthly.

Also speaking at the bureau’s budget assessment, she said the scheme caters for 11,616 retirees in the pre-1991 category.

According to her, records showed that the administration had been facilitating prompt release of retirement savings account balance to retirees, who had disengaged from the Contributory Pension Scheme, to ensure that senior citizens enjoy a better life after service.

Besides the N791 million paid monthly, the bureau also pay N4.6 billion monthly pensions between January and June, 2019.

Kokumo said the bureau had been managing the benefits of the ‘Pay as you Go’ scheme and the Contributory Pension Scheme.

She added that the bureau’s primary responsibility was that of the pre-1991 retirees, comprising local government and SUBEB personnel, as well as officials still in service.

Kokumo listed other achievements as computation and compilation of outstanding gratuities and death pensions till date, maintenance of records for easy access, facilitation of remittances of contributory pension deductions as and when released, among others.

She added that the state government was already taking steps to address the challenges confronting the Bureau regarding the renovation of its offices and provision of befitting infrastructure, full digitization, and computerization of its activities, among others.

Responding, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Akeem Balogun, who applauded the management team for maintaining the standard in the discharge of its duties, tasked the Bureau to come up with strategies that could assist in offsetting the outstanding gratuities of local government councils and SUBEB retirees.