- Lagos Pays N723m to 149 Retirees
The Lagos State Government said it had paid N723m accrued pension rights into the Retirement savings Accounts of 149 retirees of the public sector during its 47th retirement benefit bond certificate presentation ceremony in Lagos.
A statement obtained on Sunday quoted the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Benson Oke, as saying that his interest in the well-being of the retirees was the driving force of the state government’s commitment to regular funding of pension obligations.
He said the state government had spent N33.94bn in the form of accrued pension rights on 8,409 retirees in the last 30 months.
This, he added, was aside from the regular monthly contributions into the RSAs of active workers.
He stated, “We have been able to clear the backlog of outstanding pension obligations that we met at the inception of this administration and we are forging ahead to ensure that fresh liabilities arising from recent retirements are systematically cleared. We assure all retirees that your labour in Lagos State shall not go unrewarded and you will not retire into penury.”
The Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, said that the Contributory Pension Scheme was the best thing democracy had bequeathed to Nigerian workers because it would make employers to fulfil their obligations to workers; ensure commitment on the part of the different tiers of government and would give no room for stressful verification as experienced with the Defined Benefit Scheme.
She advised the retirees not to succumb to any pressure in deciding annuity or programmed withdrawal benefit options for the payment of their monthly pensions.
