By Sandra Kenneth
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has promised to provide the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the state with a permanent secretariat and a utility bus, alongside resolving issues surrounding the rent for their current office space.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by his Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Mashood Agboola, the governor made the commitments on Tuesday in Ilorin during a strategic meeting with the leadership of the state’s pension union.
Governor AbdulRazaq noted that the union’s previous office was secured under a Certificate of Temporary Occupancy (CTO), meaning they occupied the property at the discretion of the government. Assuring them of a permanent home, the governor stated, “I’ll work with the Head of Service to make sure we find you a permanent place and we’ll sort out the issue of the rents you are currently paying. On the issue of the bus, we’ll sort that one out.”
At the meeting, the State Commissioner for Finance, Hauwa Nuru, disclosed that the state government is fully up to date with regular pension payments and continues to make consistent provisions for gratuities. She clarified that retirees who missed payments between 2015 and 2018 did so because they failed to participate in mandatory physical verification exercises.
In his remarks, the Kwara State NUP Chairman, Mahmud Saidu, commended Governor AbdulRazaq for overhauling pension administration since assuming office in May 2019. Recalling how retirees previously suffered from fractionalized payments and billions in salary arrears, Saidu praised the administration for clearing past debts and ensuring regular pension disbursements on or before the 25th of every month.
