Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has approved an immediate increase in the quarterly payment of gratuity from N1 billion to N2 billion.
The increase represents 100 per cent in aggregate for both the state and local government pensions.
Adesoji Adewuyi, Permanent Secretary, Bureau of State Pensions, who spoke in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said the gesture was another government’s effort at alleviating hardship faced by senior citizens in the face of present socio-economic challenges in the country.
Adewuyi disclosed that government had also set aside three per cent of the gratuity for pensioners with urgent medical needs or hospital bills.
In a related development, Adewuyi noted that the state government has constituted a Consequential Adjustment Committee, with a directive to review the pensioners’ monthly income in line with the present economic reality.
According to the permanent secretary, under the new arrangement, monthly pensions, which statutorily should be reviewed every five years, would now be N10,000 for those earning below the benchmark.
“In 2023, the governor approved the payment and it is being paid pending the conclusion of the general review of the monthly pension by the Consequential Adjustment Committee,” he said.
In his response, the chairman of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, NUP, Waheed Oloyede, expressed gratitude to Governor Abiodun, for deeming it fit to increase the quarterly gratuity.
He noted that the increment would assist pensioners in coping with the economic challenges facing the country.