Olusegun Abatan, the executive secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, NUP, in Oyo State, has stated that contrary to insinuation in some quarters that Abiola Ajimobi, late former governor of the state, paid his medical bills when he was flown to India for medical treatment some years back, the Oyo State governnent did.
OYOINSIGHT.COM recalls that Abatan has, on several ocassion, lauded incumbent Seyi Makinde for his good disposition towards pensioners in the state which, he said, is better than that of his immediate predecessor.
However, loyalists of the late former governor and opposition members in the state have described the NUP secretary as an ingrate who did not reward late Ajimobi with gratitude even when he stood by him when he was critically sick.
Issues bothering on how the immediate past government in the state handled payment of pension and gratuity and the attention being given pensioners welfare by the incumbent government have been a subject of debate for sometime.
The opposition party, especially the All Progressives Congress, APC, had claimed that the former administration did well to pensioners until the recession that crippled the Nigerian economy in 2017. The way Makinde has handled workers and pensioners welfare have been duly commended by the workers.
Reacting to a question posed by an audience on IMPACT POINT – a news and current affairs programme on IBR 92.5fm Ibadan anchored by Aanuoluwapo Omorinde and monitored by OYOINSIGHT.COM yesterday on why lAjimobi was given the award of the “Most Pensioners Friendly” award by the pensioners if truly he did not treat them well and that who footed his medical bills in India some years back, Abatan said “Ajimobi did not foot my medical bill, it was Oyo State government that footed my bill when I was sick. The money was not Ajimobi’s money, it belonged to Oyo State government”.
He hinted that Makinde, in honour of a court judgement in favour of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners in Oyo State, has approved the sum of N250 million for the payment of outstanding gratuities of retirees in the state.
To resolve the inequality in wages in Nigeria, Abatan suggested that Nigerian public office holders should be placed on minimum wage.
He suggested that the ceiling be expanded such that a president will be placed on grade level 25, of the current national minimum wage, vice president grade level 24, senators grade level 23, house of representatives members grade level 22, governors grade level 21, deputy governors grade level 20 and so on.
With these, he opined, the wide margin in pay will be closed and governance will be less expensive than it is now.
