By Inwalomhe Donald
Aggrieved pensioners in Osun State, recently urged Governor Gboyega Oyetola to drag his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for failing to offset their pensions and gratuities. The retirees made this request while protesting the inability of the state government to pay their entitlements including gratuities, pensions and outstanding half salary arrears of over 15 months.
In 2018, a faction of Osun pensioners sent a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former Governor Rauf Aregbesola . The call by some Osun pensioners is unacceptable. Within a reasonable period of time, the Osun 2011/2012 pensioners got it wrong on the petition they wrote. They opted out of contributory pension scheme when Aregbesola enrolled them. This is a sponsored attack and blackmail on the former governor of Osun.
The 2011/2012 pensioners group is made up of a fraction of those who retired from service in 2012 to avoid being part of the Contributory Pension Scheme. They are the pensioners being used for protests by political blackmailers in Osun State. It is not the entire pensioners of the state that are involved.
I have been demoralised by the orchestrated pensioners media attacks, fabrications and perpetual lies, unguarded utterances and malicious statements made by the group that the Aregbesola administration paid each political office holder who served between November 2010 and November 2014 the sum of N50 million each as severance allowance; that the government refused to pay their gratuities but instead spent the meagre resources of the state on frivolities. These allegations were baseless and unfounded.
We should, therefore, not encourage the opposition’s tradition of using these pensioners to protest in Osun State. They are the only group of pensioners that introduced internally displaced persons camp in Nigeria. The language of the protesting 2011/2012 pensioners is not only disgusting but inciting. They have abandoned democracy, a negative political culture that is based on insulting political leaders.
I am greatly disturbed that this group of pensioners that have turned themselves into a dirty weapon of destruction in the hands of the some groups in the state and have now resorted to cheap blackmail against Aregbesola who had continually displayed high level of responsibility towards the welfare of the entire citizenry, civil servants and pensioners, in spite of the paucity of funds which has affected the whole country.
It is disturbing and unfortunate that the acclaimed 2011/2012 retires have chosen to blackmail the Osun State government and persistently constituting nuisance on the streets of Osogbo to the detriment of the peace-loving citizens through sponsored protests on the payment of gratuity and not pension. I want to describe the protest by these pensioners as politically motivated. These senior citizens have been hoodwinked by the antics of those who want to play on their minds and emotion to make them appear like tools in the hands of desperate political gladiators. These pensioners have introduced politics into the bailout funds disbursed to the states and local governments that were transferred in about four tranches to some states and local governments which were stressed by the inability to meet up with the payment of salaries.
At the commissioning of the newly constructed Osun State Command Headquarters of the Nigeria Correctional Service, NCoS, located at Gbongan Ibadan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun, a group of pensioners in Osun State under the aegis of ‘Forum of 2011/2012 Retirees,’ recently staged a protest to blackmail a former governor, Rauf Aregbesola, asking him to explain how he managed the financial affairs of the state while in office as governor. Aregbesola governed Osun State between November 27, 2010, and November 27, 2018, after the tenure of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
I want to remind the pensioners protesters that they did not protest and display placards when Federal Government paid Osun State more than 22 billion naira for federal projects Aregbesola executed as governor last year. The pensioners under the aegis of the 2011/2012 Forum of Pensioners are constituting themselves as nuisance to the people of the state and blackmailing Aregbesola at the same time. There are more than 4,000 pensioners in Osun State and less than 20 who are the lunatic minority came out to protest because they have been paid by desperate politicians.
The protest at the commissioning of Osogbo Correctional Centre by the group of pensioners was a public disturbance to blackmail Aregbesola and their conduct is misleading and unbecoming of senior citizens. The pensioners in 2017 wrote a petition to EFCC on Paris Club loan refund. Aregbesola has explained that the N6.314bn second tranche of the Paris Club loan refund was used to pay the July and August 2015 salary arrears, balance of 2015 leave bonus and the July 2017 salaries and pensions which amounted to a total of N5, 131,680,567.59.
The petition sent to EFCC against former Governor Rauf Aregbesola by 2011-2012 Osun pensioners was a common demonstration of madness. Within a reasonable period of time, the Osun 2011-2012 pensioners got it wrong on the petition it wrote to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC against former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola. 2011-2012 Osun pensioners opted out of contributory pension scheme when the Osun State Government under Rauf Aregbesola enrolled them and they have petitioned EFCC over their grievances with Aregbesola. The sin that the former Governor has committed is that he has enrolled them into the contributory pension scheme.
This recent protest was sponsored attack and blackmail on the former governor by a section of the 2011/2012 pensioners. The 2011/2012 pensioners group is made up of a fraction of those who retired from service in 2012 to avoid being part of the Contributory Pension Scheme. They are the pensioners being used for protests by political blackmailers in Osun State. It is not the entire pensioners of the state that are involved.
I do not understand the orchestrated media attacks, fabricated and perpetual lies against Aregbesola. They have made unguarded utterances and malicious statements against Aregbesola administration. These allegations are baseless and unfounded. They pensioners are frustrated by the fact that their sponsors now never submitted Aregbesola’s name for ministerial appointment.
It is clear that the so-called 2011/2012 pensioners group were hired out of jealousy to stage a protest during Aregbesola’s commissioning of Osogbo correctional centre. Their incessant political protests are unbecoming of retired civil servants who ought to be placed and respected as senior citizens. We know the set of pensioners that are protesting, it is not the entire pensioners of the state. The 2011/2012 pensioners are being used by political blackmailers.
I am greatly disturbed that the 2011/2012 pensioners have turned themselves into a dirty weapon of destruction in the hands of the opportunists in the state and have now resorted to cheap blackmail against the government which has continually displayed high level of responsibility towards the welfare of the entire citizenry, civil servants and pensioners, in spite of the paucity of funds which has affected the whole country. “It is also noteworthy that these supposedly senior citizen had earlier issued a libelous and fraudulent piece where it was alleged that the Aregbesola government diverted the second tranche of Paris Club Refund to the recently concluded Osun West Senatorial election, even when none of the states of the federation had received such.
It is disturbing and unfortunate that the acclaimed 2011/2012 retires have chosen to be blackmailing Aregbesola and persistently constituting nuisance on the streets of Osogbo to the detriment of the peace-loving citizens through sponsored protests on the payment of gratuity and not pension. I want to describe the protest by some pensioners in Osun state as politically motivated. These senior citizens have been hoodwinked by the antics of those who want to play on their minds and emotions to make them appear like tools in the hands of desperate political gladiators.
•Inwalomhe Donald writes Osogbo [email protected]