By Steve Oni, Ilorin

 Local Government Pensioners Association of Nigeria (LGPAN), Kwara state chapter has disclosed that no fewer than 1,120 of its members had died.

 LGPAN attributed their deaths to non payment of N50 billion local government/local government education authority pensioners’ gratuities from November 2008 till date.

 Giving the breakdown of the figure of its deceased members, LGPAN Secretary in the state, Saidu Oladimeji, said between 2014 and 2016, 1006 of its members had passed on, adding that from 2016 till date an additional 120 also died.

 Addressing journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, the state Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Alhaji Mohammed Haliru said the deceased union members did not die natural death but due to lack of fund to procure drugs and pay hospital bills, adding that the union members would embark on seven days prayers and fasting between 20th and 26th of this month for God to intervene in their situation.

 He said: “It is not an exaggeration to state that our association had the highest death toll of its members as well as high frequency of our members who are hospitalised and the aged who could not afford ageing drugs."

 He accused the state government of being apathetic to the general welfare of the local government pensioners in the state, adding that “today’s action should not be misconstrued to be confrontational or politically-motivated but rather as the last resort that will avail the generality of the public to know our plight. We also use this medium to implore the people in general to assist us persuade the state government to develop a listening ear and be sympathetic to our call.”

 Said he: “It is most embarrassing to note that the deliberate apathy of the state government has manifested in its intentional failure to implement the 20 percent harmonisation of 2010 salary increase to the local government/local government education authority pensioners as put in place by the then Governor Bukola Saraki.

 “This deliberate denial has resulted in dichotomy between local government pensioners and their state counterpart.

 “Since April 2015, at the inception of the second tenure of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, the state government commenced allocation of peanut funds to local government staff pension board that cannot in anyway pay a month pension to the pensioners. Consequently, the local government staff pension board designed method of amputated payment through affordable percentage that the funds could meet. This mutilated payment of pension has led to an outstanding of N2.7 billion as arrears.”

 He therefore urged Senate President Bukola Saraki and the state House of Assembly to intervene in the matter and save the pensioners from further untimely death.

 Reacting to the pensioners’ allegations, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ahmed on media and communications, Dr Muyideen Akorede  empathized with the families of the deceased pensioners.

 Said he: “It is unfortunate that the pensioners are going through this predicament and the Kwara state government is concerned about their plight. The LG pensioners’ gratuity and pension arrears are due to the drop in the allocation of the federal government to the third tier of government.

 “Due to the oil crisis which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy at the moment, so you have a situation where the LGs require about N2.1 billion per month to pay primary school teachers, LG workers and pensioners. Unfortunately the allocation has dropped to in certain cases as little as N1.2 billion per month resulting in a shortfall of about N1bn. That is what is responsible for the pension arrears at the LG level.

 “No state pensioner is being owed any money. But unfortunately due to the drop in allocation from the federal government to the third tier of government, the LG authorities have been handicapped in their capacities to pay the workers. This is not due to the state government’s fault, neither is it that of the FG but due to the global downturn in oil prices.

 “Despite that, the governor has regularly approved augmentation of LG allocations. In the first instance, there was N180m last year, subsequently there was another, we are looking at roughly N400 million to N500 million that the state government has spent as allocation last year.

 “The capacity to augment LG allocations also depends on the state government’s resources and its ability to meet with its responsibilities to pensioners and workers and also appropriation under the budget.

 “While Ahmed is concerned and worried about the plight of the LG workers and pensioners who are being owed monies by the LG councils, the state government is not responsible for their plight