Local government retirees in Oyo State may have cause to smile, as Governor Abiola Ajimobi has announced the establishment of an exit training programme for them to cushion the effect of their disengagement from service.
The governor, who disclosed this on Monday while speaking at an interactive session with local government retirees at Ibadan Civic Centre, said the training programme would afford them the opportunity to share experiences with other fellow retirees.
Governor Ajimobi reiterated his administration’s commitment to make life worth living for retirees, pledging that his government would also construct a befitting club house that would serve as a melting pot for the retirees.
He said that his administration would do everything possible to assist them, adding that the retirees would be considered for government patronage to provide alternative means of livelihood for them so that they could be more comfortable and live longer.
While explaining the delay in the payment of pension allowances to the retirees, the governor explained that the five per cent pension fund which states used to receive from the Federal Government had not been forthcoming.
Besides, he said that the dwindling federal allocation to states had also contributed to the delay in the payment of pension allowances.
However, he said that his administration had surpassed its predecessors in the welfare of pensioners, stressing that his government was the first in the history of the state to pay the 142 per cent increase in pension allowance.
Governor Ajimobi advised the retirees to be closer to God and to always engage in physical exercise to ensure good health and longevity.
In his remarks,the Chairman of the occasion, Chief Bayo Oyero congratulated the retirees, advising them to look for extra activities that would engage them after service.
He noted that the 1976 Local Government Reforms had brought about improved local government administration as the country now had efficient and qualified officials serving in the third tier of government.
Oyero, who is the President of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, advised the retirees to be less extravagant and be thriftier in their spending so as to guide against finding themselves in difficult financial situations.
Also speaking, the state President of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Mr. Bayo Titilola-Sodo, said he had, since assumption of office, ensured peaceful and harmonious relationship between council workers and politicians in the various local government councils.
He also said that efforts had been geared towards resisting the “conspiracy of the elites’’ to scrap local governments as the tier of government in Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the retirees, Prince Jacob Adeyemo commended the various efforts of the Ajimobi administration towards the welfare his colleagues, adding that government had continued to provide enabling environment for them to serve.
Dr. Festus Adedayo
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media
