Members of 2011/2012 Pensioners Forum in Osun State on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest in Osogbo to press home their demand for their one year arrears of pension.
The protesters, had converged on the entrance of Osun Government Secretariat, Abeere, and prevented workers from graining access into the premises.
Commuters coming into the state through Gbongan road and those moving out of the state capital through same route, for several hours, also got trapped in traffic gridlock.
Speaking with newsmen, chairman of the 2011/2012 Forum of Pensioners in Osun State, Comrade Omoniyi Ilesanmi said said senior citizens who are not being paid their dues, are the people that worked diligently to sustain Osun after its creation.
He added: “Aregbesola should use the N6.3billion Paris loan refund he just got to pay us our pension allowance, otherwise he would find this state ungovernable.
“He has been paying us half pension allowance monthly since July 2015, which is contrary to the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended. If you go to the market, every price of all commodities have gone up.
“The full pension allowance is not even enough not to talk of half pension since July, 2015. Right now, he is owing us unpaid one year pension allowance”.
“We need to continue this agitation. Over 2,000 of our members have died. Just day before yesterday, we lost another pension in Ede and about 800 retirees are bedridden, while some are married to their wheelchairs.
“This is sheer wickedness. Where was Aregbesola when this state was created and we laboured to ensure its survival and development only to be treated like this”.
When contacted for reaction, the director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy to Aregbesola, Mr Semiu Okanlawon said: “it is interesting to note that about a month ago, this same set of pensioners accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of collecting and diverting the second tranche of Paris loan refund, which they claimed had been released to Osun State by the federal government”.
“As they have come out today, the elderly citizens should apologise not only to Aregbesola, but also to the good people of Osun State for misinforming, confusing and creating tension in the state through their false claim that the governor had received the second tranche of Paris loan refund about a month ago”.
Bola Bamigbola, Osogbo
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