Pensioners in Oyo State have declared that they would not want to return to the era of unpaid pensions and gratuities, popularly describing their position as “We won’t go back to Egypt”, as the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, pledged to sustain and improve on their welfare under the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde.
Adekanmbi gave the assurance during an interactive session with pensioners at the Pension House, Agbarigo, Ibadan, where he promised that his administration, if elected, would prioritise the prompt payment of pensions and gratuities.
According to a statement by the Director of Communication/Spokesman, Oyo State APM Governorship Campaign Council, Yinka Oladoyinbo, he said the welfare of retired workers was a responsibility he would not compromise, adding that Makinde had raised the standard of pension administration in the state and that he was committed to sustaining and improving on the achievements.
The APM candidate said his engagements across the state had enabled him to understand the expectations of different groups, including pensioners, whose concerns and demands had been documented in his charter with the people.
He also promised to maintain the existing arrangement under which pensioners receive their monthly alerts on or before the 25th, while pledging regular consultations to address issues affecting retirees.
“By paying workers and pensioners as and when due, government is making the economy of the people to be oiled and ensuring non-stop commercial activities in our markets across the state,” he said.
Adekanmbi added: “I am standing before you today to make a pledge that under the government of Bimbo Adekanmbi, pensioners will not suffer. All your dues shall be promptly paid.”
Earlier, the Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo State, Comrade Olusegun Abatan, recalled the difficult conditions pensioners experienced during the 16 years preceding Makinde’s administration, when pensions were allegedly delayed and some retirees received as little as N350 or N1,000 monthly.
Abatan said Makinde’s administration raised the minimum pension in the state to N25,000 with effect from January 2025, while also ensuring regular pension payments and clearing outstanding gratuities inherited from previous administrations.
He said the improvements recorded in the welfare of retirees had made it necessary for pensioners to seek assurances from Adekanmbi on the direction of his proposed government ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
“The saying on the lips of Oyo State pensioners, having enjoyed seven and a half years of unbroken peace, prompt payment of pensions and the clearing of unpaid gratuities left by past administrations, is that they don’t want to go back to Egypt,” Abatan said.
He explained that the expression represented the pensioners’ determination not to return to delayed or percentage-based pension payments, unpaid gratuities and the humiliation of being labelled “dead but alive”.
Abatan, who put the population of pensioners in the state at about 50,000, said their voting strength and that of their dependants could influence the outcome of elections.
He added that pensioners were prepared to support any governorship candidate whose agenda adequately addressed their welfare and interests.
