AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
The governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) in Oyo State, Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, has pledged to sustain and improve the welfare of pensioners in the state if elected governor in the 2027 governorship election.
Adekanmbi gave the assurance during an interactive session with pensioners at the Pension House, Agbarigo, Ibadan, where he promised to prioritise the prompt payment of pensions and gratuities, while sustaining the existing arrangement that ensures retirees receive their monthly pension alerts on or before the 25th of every month.
He said the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde had raised the standard of pensioners’ welfare, adding that his government would not only maintain the achievements but also seek to improve on them.
Adekanmbi also promised regular engagements with pensioners to address issues affecting their welfare, insisting that he would not make promises he could not fulfil.
The APM candidate said timely payment of pensions and salaries would also boost economic activities across the state, as pensioners and workers would have money to spend in local markets.
Earlier, the Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo State Council, Comrade Olusegun Abatan, described the 16 years preceding Makinde’s administration as difficult for pensioners, citing irregular pension payments, unpaid gratuities and failure by previous governments to implement statutory pension increases.
Abatan said the Makinde administration raised the minimum monthly pension in the state to 25,000 naira from January 2025, while also clearing outstanding gratuities inherited from previous administrations.
He said pensioners, who number about 50,000 with their dependants, were determined not to return to the difficult conditions of the past, declaring that they would support any governorship candidate whose programme adequately addresses their interests.
Abatan maintained that the popular position among pensioners was that they would not return to what they described as Egypt, a reference to the era of unpaid pensions, delayed gratuities and payment of pensions in percentages.
