Unpaid Pensions: Retirees Stage Anti-Aregbesola Protest As Minister Inaugurates Prison In Osogbo

Retirees in Osun State under the aegis of Contributory Pensioners Association on Friday staged a public protest in Osogbo, the capital of the state to protest their unpaid five years pension.

The protesters, who trooped out on Friday accused the Minister of Interior , who is the immediate past governor of the state of being the architect of their ordeal.

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They said the former governor refused to remit the pension contributions deducted from their salaries while the were in service.

Armed with placards with various inscriptions they gathered opposite the new prison facility which Aregbesola Inaugurated on Friday.

They however left before the minister arrived for the inauguration.

The retirees stated that the State Government under the administration of Aregbesola as governor denied them their entitlement for five years.

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The retires converged at the front of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters via the newly built Nigerian Correctional Service, Osun State Headquarters where Aregbesola, the Minister for Interior was set to commission.

Some of the inscriptions read: “Aregbesola is not a hero”, “Since 2016, contributory pension deductions not remitted”, “Aregbesola where is the N60 billion contributed by pensioners?”, ” Osun State Government pay us our bonds”, “Aregbesola mismanaged tranche 1,2,3,4 of Paris Club loan refund.”

The leader of the retirees, Gbenga Oyadare, while addressing journalists, said they staged the protest to draw the attention of the public to their plight and to let the people know that Aregbesola was not fit to be described as a hero which he claims to be.

He said, “We want the whole world to appeal to Aregbesola to come and explain to us how he managed our funds for eight years. That was from 2010 to 2018.

“His administration was granted N35bn bailout so that he could pay salaries and pensions but unfortunately he paid half salary for three years. Today, they have been able to get only seven months out of 36 months, remaining 29months.

“To worsen it when we were in service they deducted the contributory pension fund from our salaries but they never remitted the deductions.”

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The pensioners said current Governor Gboyega Oyetola called them when they protested in November 2020 and listened to their plight.

The governor, they said, later set up a committee to look into the issues but said they had not been paid.

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