Pensioners in Otun-Ekiti, Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti, have appealed to Governor Kayode Fayemi to pay their outstanding entitlements before the end of his tenure on October 16.

Pensioners who spoke with journalists lamented that some of their colleagues who retired between 2014 and 2019 had died without collecting their entitlements.

One of the pensioners, Taiwo Ajayi, a retired principal, appealed to Mr Fayemi to consider the plight of the ageing retirees who needed to take care of their health and take care of their children.

Mr Ajayi, a father of five unemployed graduates, lamented that he retired in 2016, but the state government had not paid him any entitlement.

Another retired civil servant, Bukola Owolabi, said it was unfortunate that many of her colleagues who retired in 2015 had died from illnesses.

Mrs Owolabi expressed regret that the departed died because of the unending delay in paying the pensioners’ gratuities by the state government.

“I appeal to our governor, Dr Fayemi, to have mercy on some of us that are still alive and give us our gratuity,’’ she said.

Olusegun Agunbiade, a retired local government employee, urged the state government to consider that the retirees spent 35 years of their lives contributing to the development of the state and pay all outstanding gratuities.

Mr Agunbiade said that he retired in April 2017 and had friends who retired in 2015 but had died without getting their entitlements.

“It is no longer news that ageing pensioners are dying without collecting their gratuities.

“I appeal to our governor to pay arrears of gratuities and put smiles on our faces,’’ he said.

Another pensioner, Felicia Ojo, a retired teacher, said she retired in 2016 and has not been paid her gratuity.

Mrs Ojo also appealed to the state government to consider the sufferings of pensioners and pay the backlog of their entitlements. 

(NAN)