The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on Governor Ademola Adeleke to issue a sincere apology to pensioners in the state for failing to fulfill his campaign pledge of settling the backlog of contributory pensions within six months of taking office.

According to a statement released by Chief Kola Olabisi, the party’s Director of Media and Information, in Osogbo, the state capital, it has become evident that the Adeleke-led government has deceived pensioners and civil servants with its inability to deliver on its campaign commitments.

The recent approval by the Adeleke administration to release bond certificates amounting to N2.1 billion for the payment of accrued benefits to another group of retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has raised questions about the administration’s sincerity. The beneficiaries of this payment include retired staff from local government areas, local council development areas, area councils, ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), secondary schools, tertiary institutions, and parastatals.

The Osun State APC chairman highlighted that the mere approval for the N2.1 billion CPS bond payment indicated a lack of transparency in the administration’s actions. He raised concerns about the allocation of funds to different segments of the retired workforce, suggesting that the administration may be concealing certain figures.

The chairman further criticized the Adeleke administration for its perceived lack of empathy and commitment towards pensioners. He described the government’s approach as being in motion without tangible progress. He questioned the adequacy of the funds allocated to the Contributory Pension Scheme and emphasized the necessity of addressing outstanding liabilities.

The APC urged Governor Adeleke to consider the scale of the outstanding pension liabilities, estimating that if N500 million is continuously allocated over the span of his tenure, it would only amount to N24 billion. This amount falls significantly short of the total pension liabilities at both the state and local government levels.

“For nine months now, Adeleke has been able to pay less than N4bn plus the local government liabilities of the pension. If we divide 48 months by four times, he would only be able to pay N12bn in four years of his tenure.

“The immediate-past Governor Gboyega Oyetola paid the Contributory Pension Scheme of the civil servants, parastatals, and secondary school retirees on the CPS from 2016 to April 2018 and paid in full all the retirees on the CPS whose bonds were between N100K and N2m in full till December 2020. In all, despite poor state of finances, the Oyetola administration paid over N40 billion to settle pensions and N97 billion from the state indebtedness.

“Why is it difficult or impossible for Governor Adeleke to paste the names of the beneficiaries of the questionable pension bonds as it was the practice during his predecessor’s tenure if truly he has nothing to hide?

“The retired primary school teachers CPS pensioners are still in 2016. Adeleke should tell the whole world which one he is paying if he has nothing to conceal?

“Now that the local government councils are buoyant, why is Adeleke wasting their funds on phantom contracts instead of releasing chunk funds to these hapless retirees to save their lives and jump-start the economy of the state by releasing their bond certificates as he promised to do within six months in his campaign promise?

“Governor Adeleke should tell the public how many retirees would be paid and what are their names? How many school teachers would benefit and what are their identities?

“What is the meaning of this ‘talk-and-do’ in the face of this malfeasance and man inhumanity to man? What Adeleke is doing to these retirees is a crying scandal.

“Which month is Adeleke paying in the civil service, the parastatals, the secondary school teachers or is he paying only the retirees from Ede?

“Is Governor Adeleke following the register of the pensioners; is it that there is no favoritism in the process that his government.

The APC called on Governor Adeleke to take responsibility for the unfulfilled promise and issue an unreserved apology to pensioners who have been left disappointed by the administration’s actions.