APC urges Fayose to safe pensioners from untimely death

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has called on Governor Ayo Fayose to stop his anti-people policies against workers to prevent life-threatening consequences.

The party added that the governor’s “deliberate” failure to pay pensioners their retirement benefits had resulted in the deaths of some pensioners, saying that it is sheer wickedness to deliberately punish pensioners who served the state meritoriously.

Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said in a statement that the appeal became imperative on the heels of the recent death of the State Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Pa Rufus Kayode Ogedengbe, who died of minor ailment because he could not afford simple medicare.

“Ekiti people can no longer tolerate this deliberate callousness that results in the deaths of those that paid through their sweats to productively contribute to the development of Ekiti state while Fayose releases N5 million monthly to his media aide, Lere Olayinka, to abuse President Muhammadu Buhari on social media.

“While Fayose is in the habit of always cajoling the pensioners who are senior citizens of the state that there is no money, he has increased his security vote to N250 million, which we learn has been increased to N300 million while his sons studying abroad ride multi-million naira automobiles” Olatubosun said.

He said it was heartless for the governor to deny pensioners their entitlements over purported shortage of funds while buying up pages of newspapers to abuse the President for self-serving motives on a daily basis.

APC spokesman also berated the governor over refusal to pay the state workers who are children of pensioners their entitlements, while also making life unbearable for traders through heavy taxation.

“Private business owners are facing unbearable tax burden to cope with daily survival while petty traders have been sent packing from the trading posts and the few ones still in operation are being pursued by Fayose’s agents for obnoxious taxes,” he said.

He urged the governor to learn from former Governor Kayode Fayemi who paid pensioners regularly during his tenure without owing them a dime.

“We have asked Governor Fayose many times what he has done with the bailout fund from which he is supposed to pay the backlog of arrears of pensioners and the severance allowances of former political office holders but he has refused to render any account, instead, he has been going round local governments deceiving the workers about the true financial position of the state” he added.

He accused the governor of monthly trip to Dubai with alleged huge sums of state money after receiving federal allocations, but still found it difficult to pay pensioners who were being owed five months arrears.

“It is even worse with pensioners of the state College of Education who have not received any payment for about six months.

“Many of the pensioners are sick and some have died of minor ailments for lack of care, but the governor doesn’t care as long as he amasses wealth and appropriate Ekiti money.

“We call on all men and women of goodwill to prevail on Governor Fayose to consider the plights of Ekiti state pensioners and pay them their entitlements. These old men and women have served the state well and they don’t deserve to suffer in this manner.”