The Edo State Government has reiterated the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s commitment to solving pension issues in the state, calling for patience among pensioners as the government resolves lingering challenges.
In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, noted that the government has shown good faith by solving two out of the three major issues affecting pensioners in the state.
According to him, “It is instructive to note that when the Governor Obaseki-led administration came into office in 2016, the pension related challenges in the state were three-pronged.
“They include unpaid pension arrears running into over N4bn; failure to harmonise pension payment and the issue of outstanding gratuities owed pensioners.
“These issues dated back to 2010 and the government at that time failed to address the challenges, leading to accumulation of a backlog of pension arrears and gratuities. It is necessary to emphasize that these problems predate the current administration.
“Of these three major challenges that pensioners in Edo State faced, the Obaseki-led government took the bold step to successfully address two and is hard at work in solving the last of them, which is clearing outstanding gratuities.”
He continued: “The government has cleared the backlog of arrears and ensured the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme to check a repeat of the ugly trend and has also harmonized pension payment – which had lingered for over 20 years – ensuring that pensions are better paid in line with current realities in Edo State.
“We urge pensioners in the Edo State to be patient and show good faith as the government’s commitment to their welfare has never been in doubt.
“It should bring some hope and succor that in the last six years, the government has solved two of the issues and is at the verge of sorting the challenges with clearing gratuities.
“It is for this reason that we call for calm and urge them to be assured of the government’s resolve to solve all outstanding issues.”
