By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No fewer than 333 retirees from the Mainstream Civil Service, Local Governments, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Teachers Establishment and Pensions Office (TEPO) and other agencies of government in Lagos have been paid the sum of N1.5 billion for October 2016, the state government has disclosed.
The said amount was reportedly paid by the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) to the beneficiaries.
Director-General of LASPEC, Mrs Folashade Onanuga, disclosed that since monthly payment of accrued pension rights started in August 2015, the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has paid a total of N20.98 billion to 4,799 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme in the last 15 months.
Mrs Onanuga, speaking at the 32nd Retirement Benefit Bond Presentation Ceremony recently, revealed that the payment of accrued pension rights was structured in such a way that, one does not need to know anyone before he or she got paid.
She said apart from the commitment to paying the entitlements of the retirees, Mr Ambode was also interested in the well-being of the retirees and as such will be holding an interactive forum with them soon.
This forum, she said, is tagged ‘Retirees Day-Out with His Excellency’ and is designed as a “feedback mechanism” that allows retirees to inform the government of their challenges and how the state could intervene effectively among others.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka