The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded that Governor Ademola Adeleke issues a sincere apology to pensioners in the state for failing to deliver on his campaign pledge to clear the backlog of their contributory pensions within the initial six months of assuming office.
According to information gathered by National Daily Newspaper, the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, released a statement in the state capital, Osogbo. The statement highlights the party’s view that Governor Adeleke’s administration has shown deception in executing its campaign promises.
The statement comes in light of a recent announcement from the state Head of Service, Mr. S.A. Aina, confirming that the Adeleke administration had authorized the issuance of bond certificates worth N2.1 billion for the payment of accrued right benefits to another group of retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) at both the state and local government levels.
The beneficiaries of this gesture include retired personnel from local government areas, local council development areas, area councils, ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), secondary schools, tertiary institutions, and parastatals.
The Osun State APC chairman expressed skepticism over the administration’s intentions, noting that the revelation of the mere approval for the N2.1 billion CPS bond payment for retirees suggests insincerity on the part of Adeleke’s government. This marks the second occurrence of such a bond issuance in approximately nine months under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state.
The APC chairman questioned the lack of transparency in the allocation of funds to different segments of the retired workforce, including primary school teachers, civil servants, and retired employees in various sectors. He suggested that the administration’s reluctance to provide specific figures indicates potential hidden motives.
The chairman further criticized the Adeleke administration’s handling of pension matters, describing it as lacking empathy and driven by selfish interests. He characterized the administration’s actions as stagnant and unproductive.
In the chairman’s assessment, if the administration continues to allocate N500 million each month for 48 months, the cumulative amount of N24 billion at the end of Adeleke’s tenure falls significantly short of the outstanding liabilities at both state and local government levels.
“For nine months now, Adeleke has been able to pay less than N4bn plus the local government liabilities of the pension. If we divide 48 months by four times, he would only be able to pay N12bn in four years of his tenure.
“The immediate-past Governor Gboyega Oyetola paid the Contributory Pension Scheme of the civil servants, parastatals and secondary school retirees on the CPS from 2016 to April 2018 and paid in full all the retirees on the CPS whose bonds were between N100K and N2m in full till December 2020. In all, despite poor state of finances, the Oyetola administration paid over N40 billion to settle pensions and N97 billion from the state indebtedness.
“Why is it difficult or impossible for Governor Adeleke to paste the names of the beneficiaries of the questionable pension bonds as it was the practice during his predecessor’s tenure if truly he has nothing to hide?
“The retired primary school teachers CPS pensioners are still in 2016. Adeleke should tell the whole world which one he is paying if he has nothing to conceal?
“Now that the local government councils are bouyant, why is Adeleke wasting their funds on phantom contracts instead of releasing chunk funds to these hapless retirees to save their lives and jump-start the economy of the state by releasing their bond certificates as he promised to do within six months in his campaign promise?
“Governor Adeleke should tell the public how many retirees would be paid and what are their names? How many school teachers would benefit and what are their identities?
“What is the meaning of this ‘talk-and-do’ in the face of these malfeasance and man inhumanity to man? What Adeleke is doing to these retirees is a crying scandal.
“Which month is Adeleke paying in the civil service, the parastatals, the secondary school teachers or is he paying only the retirees from Ede?
“Is Governor Adeleke following the register of the pensioners; is it that there is no favouritism in the process that his government.
The Osun APC called on Governor Adeleke to be transparent about his administration’s financial commitments and responsibilities toward pensioners and urged him to honor his campaign promises or offer a public apology for not meeting those commitments.