Ekiti Pensioners Raise Alarm Over Death Of Colleagues
Pensioners in Ekiti State have raised the alarm over increasing spate of deaths of its members, saying their deaths were caused by non-payment of their monthly pensions and gratuities.
The council pensioners, at their monthly meeting held in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital on Monday disclosed that seven local government pensioners have died in state in the last two weeks due to lack the money to take care of themselves over non-payment of their entitlements.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting signed by the Forum’s Coordinator, Alhaji Quadri Oguntuase and Secretary, Mr. Biodun Agboola, the group urged Governor Ayo Fayose, to pay their eight months arrears of pension as well as their gratuities which had not been paid in the last five years.
While regretting that their situation had inflicted untold suffering on the helpless retirees, they urged the state government to accord the pensioners’ welfare utmost priority.
The seven who died in the last two weeks, according to the communiqué, are Mr. J.O. Ojo, Mr. Adedayo Ojo, Mrs. Modupe Aribisala, Mr. Abegunde, Mr. Ogunleye, Mrs. Adelugba and Alhaji Abdullahi.
The retirees who observed a minute’s silence in honour of seven of the dead who were part of last month’s meeting but died within the last fourteen days reminded the state government that council pensioners have only been paid up till February 2017 “contrary to the state government’s pronouncement in the media.”
Oguntuase expressed dismay with the condition of the retirees whom he said served diligently in the prime of their life only to be dumped to poverty and hardship in their latter years.
Oguntuase said: “The situation has become unbearable for us and we have no option that to cry aloud for the world to know that we, pensioners are suffering in Ekiti.
“The rates at which we are dying is alarming and imagine the harvest of deaths in the last two weeks. Seven of our members died within the period and the situation was caused by non-payment of our benefits.
“Because our monthly pensions are not paid, many of us lack money to eat and to take care of our families. The denial of our rights has made many of us to become irresponsible fathers and husbands at home.
“In fact, many of those who died had no money to buy drugs to manage their ailments or to take themselves to hospitals. Things are as bad as that and we want the state government to look for ways to pay us our pensions and gratuities.”
“We believe it is not an offence to diligently serve our fatherland; government should not watch while we suffer because our entitlements are our rights that we should not be denied of.
