‘Aregbesola’s excuse for non-payment of pension laughable’

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola
 

The immediate-past Head of Service in Osun State, Mr. Segun Akinwusi, has described the excuse given by Governor Rauf Aregbesola for his administration inability to pay pensions and gratuities as laughable.

The Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro, had blamed the inability of the government to pay retirees on the former HOS’ approval of the mass resignation of workers then without considering the financial implications that would have on the government.

Akinwusi is now a governorship aspirant of the Unity Party of Nigeria in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in the state.

Bolorunduro reacted to the protest staged by hundreds of retired workers who trooped to the streets of Osogbo on Monday to protest non-payment of their entitlements.

But Akinwusi in a statement on Tuesday  described the excuse from the state  government as laughable, saying the state was broke due to profligacy.

Akinwusi said, “I have retired six months before the massive retirements. The Contributory Pensions Scheme Law was enacted by the state House of Assembly in 2009. I am not the one who made the law, so, I cannot be the one who forced them to retire.

“I alerted the governor about the mass retirement coming and he was happy that people are leaving the service but I warned him that although salaries would go down, pensions would go up and that we should be proactive.

“The  greatest enemy of the civil servant is the finance commissioner, because, even when I got the approval for  government increment of its contribution to the pension fund, he refused to effect this till I left office in July 2012 and has not even done it till now.

“When he came up with an idea to use contributory pension fund as collateral to borrow money, I insisted that it was unethical and immoral for government to do that because it is no longer government money, I have to insist that the money be lodged with the Central Bank of Nigeria .

“Several things had happened since the time I left. The picture of the economy shows its profligacy; salaries are not regular, pensions are not regular. It shows government is broke because it cannot meet its minimum obligations.”

The commissioner for finance had said it was regrettable that the approval Akinwusi gave for the forceful resignation of workers from government service  led to the sharp increase of monthly pension payment from N260m to N600m.

He had said, “ It is regrettable that the previous head of service that approved the forceful resignation of the group of retirees did not consider the cashflow implication when granting the approval, thus leading the government not to make adequate provision for the associated obligation. This incidence spontaneously led to an increase in the government monthly pension payment from N250m, met at the inception of our administration to N600m.”

Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Mr. Wole Oke, has said  Aregbesola, cannot stop his party from winning the August governorship election.

Oke said this while addressing leaders of the party at the party secretariat in Osogbo on Tuesday after submitting his governorship  form.

Oke, a former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee  on Defence, said the party would win the governorship election convincingly because the people of the state had rejected the All Progressives Congress-led government.

He said, “Ogbeni  Rauf Aregbesola and his party are no longer popular in the state. We are winning back Osun State by the grace of God. The APC is  not a threat to the PDP, although some left us but more people are equally defecting to our party.”

He said that the resources of the state were being mismanaged since the APC took over in 2010.