The Osun State governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has approved the release of the sum N 708,000,000 to offset pension arrears of retired officers of the state civil service. This brings the total approved sum for pension arrears to N1, 408,000,000 in the past six weeks.
In a press release signed by the Head of Service, Mr. Festus Olowogboyega Oyebade, the sum of N508 million was approved for the payment of the pensions of retired civil servants on a general note, while 150 million was approved for payment of selected retirees under the contributory pensions scheme based on merit. He added that additional 50 million was approved for part-payment of the gratuities of retired officers under the old pensions scheme.
According to the release, the list of beneficiaries selected on merit has been pasted on the notice boards of the Ministry of Information and Civic Orientation, the State’s Pension Bureau, and the Office of the Head of Service. It was also stated that payment of the approved funds will commence on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Osun Debt Management Office, DMO on Friday described a recent social media publication of a former Commissioner for Finance in the state, Mr Wale Bolorunduro concerning the state’s finances as a misleading compedium of half-truths. According to a statement of clarification of the misconceptions, made available to newsmen in Osogbo, by the Osun DMO through its Director-General, Mr Tunde Adejumo, the write-up by the former commissioner does not in anyway show the true financial status of the state. The Osun DMO believes it is a deliberate attempt to interpret the deferral of the monthly loan repayments on Salary bail-out and Budget support loans to mean another windfall for the state’s availability and use, stressing that the State’s cashflow at this time remains stressed going by the insignificance of the deferred monthly loan repayments when compared with the unexpected drop in the State’s monthly statutory receipts caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.