Aregbesola guilty of murder – Osun pensioners

The Nigerian Union of Pensioners, NUP, Osun Sate Chapter on Wednesday accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the death of no fewer than 236 of its union members who lost their lives this year due to hardships suffered by the inability of the State Government to pay their pension allowance and gratuities.

The NUP secretary Elder Adesoji Adedire who expressed regret on how Aregbesola had made life miserable for pensioners in the State made this known on Wednesday, after it staged a peaceful protest to the Osun State Assembly complex.






According to reports, the protesters were mostly elderly people from across the State.
They moved from the Assembly to the popular Olaiya Junction, causing traffic jam for more than two hours, displaying placards with various inscriptions including “Pensioners are suffering”, “Pay our pension”, “We can’t suffer anymore” and “stop deceiving us.”

The pensioners condemned in strong terms the failure of the State Government to pay their allowances.
The NUP Secretary while addressing newsmen shortly after the protest, decried that members of the union could no longer bear the pain imposed on them by Aregbesola, stating that the protest became necessary since President Muhammadu Buhari led had said no state was being owed monthly allocation.

“Pensioners in the State are yet to be paid seven months pension. All promises made by Governor Rauf Aregbesola when the pensioners met with him on July 23, 2013 were empty and his insensitivity to the plight of pensioners have led to the untimely death of many of us.“About 30% of the pensioners due for the 142% pension arrears are yet to collect the initial 15% of the arrears, payment which started in October 2012. Even many pensioners who were short paid were not attended to.
“Non-payment of the arrears of 19%, 6% and 15% pension increase which the Government implemented in 2011 as well as non-payment of the federal share of gratuity and pension of those who retired from July 1, 2007 for which the State Government has accepted are part of our grievances,” Adedire remarked.

Mr. Taiwo Adeyemi, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, who received the protesting pensioners at the State Assembly, urged them to exercise patience, assuring that the governor would soon find a solution to their plight.