Oyo pensioners to Ajimobi: You owe us between 17 and 56 months pension arrears. Pay Now!

Pensioners in Oyo State, on Tuesday, demanded the payment of their pension arrears from Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
They claimed that the state government “is owing us between 17  and  56 months of pension arrears”.
Mr Gbadegesin Akande, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the state, said in Ibadan  that retired primary school teachers were the most affected among the pensioners
Akande  spoke at the  reception held for  the newly appointed Chairman of Oyo State Pension Board, Mr Samson Aderounmu,  and Mr Oluokun Akintola, his  Local Government Service Commission counterpart.
He said the retired teachers were among those  owed between 17  and  56 months of pension arrears while gratuities had not been paid since  2008.
“Retired primary school teachers are tired of being paid in percentages and we urge that non-payment of local government pensioners along with local government staff  be stopped during the tenure of Akintola.
“Regrettably, while six and 15 per cent increment was implemented for all categories of pensioners since 2013,  that of the local government pensioners were not implemented.
“ The implementation of this was as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding the government signed with the union in January, 2013 with the imprimatur of a competent court of  jurisdiction.
“ It is our hope that the union would not be pushed to go back to the court for the enforcement of the judgement,’’ Akande said.
He urged the new appointees   to take up the  issue with the passion it deserved, adding that they must work together to improve the condition of pensioners.
Akande, who noted that  this was the first time the union would be organising a reception for newly appointed government officials, pointed out that the appointees  deserved the appointment.
In her remarks, Mrs Adekemi Opatunde, the Special Assistant to Ajimobi on Community Relations, urged the pensioners to be patient with the state government.
Opatunde said that government was currently working on ways to  ensure  that all arrears of pensioners in the state were paid.
In their remarks, the new appointees  promised to do their best in  ensuring that the state government addressed the challenges faced by the pensioners.