By Jon Egie
In a clear and huge departure from what obtains in Delta State under the administration of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, the Lagos State Governor, , Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has released the sum of N34.12 bn for payment of retirees under the Contributory Scheme since the inception of his administration.
In juxtapose, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State owes over N51bn to some 5000 retirees with no solid plan on ground to pay them even as the death toll of the retirees increase by the day due to lack of money for self upkeep.
Only recently, the governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum announced the release of N12bn for payment of gratuities of retirees in the State saying he could not tolerate the suffering of senior citizens who had put in 35 years of service to the State with unpaid gratuities.
The payment of N34.12 to retirees in Lagos State was disclosed by Governor Sanwo-Olu during the presentation of retirement bond certificates to the 90th batch of Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) retirees in Lagos last Saturday.
“It is gratifying to note that as at the 89th bond presentation batch, the state government had paid a sum of N34.12bn into the Retirement Savings Account of retirees in the mainstream, local government, State Universal Basic Board, Teaching Service Commission and other parastatals of the state government.
“I am happy to report that 8,707 retirees are enjoying their retirement benefits under the Contributory Pension Scheme since the advent of my administration.
“I am delighted to inform you that today, another set of 421 retirees will smile home with a sum of N1.53bn. As we speak, this amount has already been remitted into their respective Retirement Savings Accounts with the Pension Fund Administrators, in addition to their monthly contributions.”
According to the governor, with such commitment and performance, retiring officers in the Lagos State Public Service now look forward to retirement with more confidence.”
Unfortunately, fate of retirees in Delta State is the other way round as it takes a minimum of seven years for a retiree to get his gratuity.
Presently, the government is paying the last batch of 2014 retirees from public primary schools and in spite of all protest and lobby made by retirees, the Delta State government has remianed mute and hence the retirees are in despair and hang on forlorn hope.
Pension Fund Administration (PFA) sources told our reporter that the Delta State government was yet to remit their counterpart contributions to add up to those made by the retirees in their Retirement Savings Account (RSA), hence the situation remains gloomy.
But the Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission, Mr Babalola Obilana, said, “Since the inception of the Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria, Lagos State has remained focused and resolute to the ideals of the scheme.
“The state government has consistently prioritized pension contributions in the annual state budget, and we are happy to note that Lagos State does not owe monthly pension contributions as both employee and employer’s contributions are remitted promptly into individual employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts after salaries are received.”
He said LASPEC, in line with its role as the regulatory body for pension matters in the state, was constantly reviewing its business processes to ensure the financial freedom of public service retirees.
He noted that in 2020, it launched the Retirement Savings Account Transfer System (transfer window) by the National Pension Commission, which permits RSA holders to transfer their accounts from one PFA to another.
The director-general also said the commission was facilitating the review of the Lagos State Pension Reform Law to eradicate bottlenecks in the processing of retirement documents and hasten access to pension benefits.
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