After 10 years of waiting, Ondo retirees finally get ₦3.9bn gratuity payment

• Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has begun the payment of ₦3.897 billion gratuities to 1,038 retired local government workers and primary school teachers.

• The beneficiaries retired in 2016 and had been waiting for their retirement benefits.

• Aiyedatiwa said the payment was a responsibility to workers who served the state, not a political gesture.

• The Ondo government said it is working to clear the remaining gratuity backlog owed to state and local government retirees.

For some retired workers in Ondo State, the long wait for their gratuity has finally come to an end.

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has started the payment of ₦3.897 billion in gratuities to 1,038 retired local government workers and primary school teachers who left service in 2016.

The payment was officially flagged off on Thursday at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

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The development was announced in a statement by Famakinwa Abooulwa, Director of Information at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

According to the governor, the payment is not a favour or a political move but a responsibility owed to workers who spent years serving the state.

He said the money would be paid directly into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

“The payment is intended to put smiles on the faces of our senior citizens who dedicated their most productive years to the development of Ondo State.

“Some senior citizens retired into penury while others died without enjoying the fruits of their labour; I want to assure their surviving families that their sacrifices would not be forgotten,” he said.

Aiyedatiwa also appealed to retirees who were not part of the current batch to remain patient, assuring them that his administration was working towards clearing the backlog of unpaid gratuities owed to both state and local government retirees.

“We stand by our unwavering commitment to ensuring that ‘gratuity backlog’ becomes a thing of the past. We are determined like never before to fulfil this promise to all our retirees both in the state and local government,” he stated.

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The governor also highlighted the Ondo State Residents Health Insurance Scheme (ORANGHIS), saying it was created to provide free healthcare access for senior citizens in the state.

He advised the retirees to manage their gratuities carefully and avoid risky investments that could make them lose their money.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Amidu Takuro, said the gratuity payment process has moved through different retirement years, covering beneficiaries from 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and now 2016.

Takuro acknowledged that clearing the backlog, which runs into billions of naira, has been a major challenge but said progress was being made.

The Head of Service, Segun Odusanya, also praised the governor for focusing on the welfare of both serving and retired public workers.

For many of the retirees, the payment represents relief after years of waiting for money they earned from decades of public service.