Ekiti pensioners groan over unpaid benefits, union raises alarm

By Boye Oyeyemi –

The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners in Ekiti State has raised concerns over what it described as the worsening condition of retired workers in the state.

Speaking at a New Year prayer session held in Ado Ekiti, the state chairman of the union, Comrade Temitope Popoola, said pensioners were enduring hardship due to delays in the payment of gratuities and other entitlements.

Popoola lamented that retirees in Ekiti were among the least paid in the country, noting that many had been left in distress because their terminal benefits remained outstanding.

He also said that repeated efforts to secure an audience with Governor Biodun Oyebanji had failed, despite several letters written to the Government House.

The union leader appealed to the governor to intervene and halt what he described as the misuse of government authority to encourage irregular practices within the pension system.

According to him, some government officials allegedly collaborated with a few indicted union members to set up an association not recognised by law.

Popoola, however, assured members that the union would remain resolute in pressing for their welfare and would not abandon the struggle for their rights.