The Oyo State Council of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), says the kind-heartedness of Gov. Seyi Makinde to the pensioners and his other achievements were responsible for his victory during the just concluded March 18 governorship election.
The NUP Secretary, Dr Olusegun Abatan, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Ibadan.
Abatan said that Makinde’s humble character, intelligent, love for the pensioners and entire citizens of the state were some of the factors that contributed to his emergence as the Governor of Oyo for second term.
He said that before the emergence of Makinde in 2019, lives of pensioners in the state were “hellish” as a result of unpaid pensions and gratuities resulting to death of many pensioners in the state.
The NUP scribe said that many things also went wrong in the state in the areas of education, agriculture, health and infrastructure sectors before the coming on board of Makinde in 2019.
Abatan said that the emergence of Makinde in 2019 as the governor changed lives of pensioners with prompt payment of their pensions, pension arrears and gratuities.
According to him, Makinde cancelled the payment of pensions in percentages which was introduced by the previous administration.
“He had also paid over N20 billion out of the unpaid N42.3 billion arrears of pensions and gratuities owed by past administrations in the state.
“Prayers of pensioners in Oyo State was not to go back to those hellish and brutish days before Makinde’s emergence and such administration that inflicted those hardships will never surface again in Oyo State.
“That is the reason everybody rally round Makinde and ensure that he was re-elected for second term in office.
“We mobilised ourselves, children, families and friends, because we knew that if that election did not go the way we wanted, pensioners are going to be the first casualty of the new government.
“We are grateful to God that it went the way we wanted and that is a testament that anybody that want to be the Governor of Oyo State must factor pensioners into his arrangements otherwise such person will never be Governor,” Abatan said.
He said re-election of Makinde implies that pensioners matters that are already before him, particularly their 13 points demands, would be given priority and be promptly attended to.
The NUP secretary said that Makinde was aware of the demands of pensioners in the state and had promised to do, even more, for the pensioners.
Abatan prayed unto God to give Makinde the wisdom in order for him to be able to deliver more dividends of democracy to people of the state during his second term and would not renege on his campaign promises.
He pledged the union’s maximum support and loyalty to the governor, urging him not be carried away by euphoria of second term, but build on the successes he had so far recorded.
Source – NAN