By Dipo Olowookere
The sum of N801 million has been paid to another set of 179 retirees as accrued pension rights for the month of February, 2017 by the Lagos State government.
Beneficiaries of this payment are from the mainstream civil service, Local Government and State Universal Basic Education Board, Teachers Establishment Pensions Office and other Parastatals of Government.
This development is in fulfilment of the promise of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to give priority to the issue of payment of retirees’ entitlements.
Speaking at the 36th Retirement Benefit Bond Certificate Presentation Ceremony held yesterday at NECA House, CBD, Ikeja, the Director-General Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Mrs Folashade Onanuga, congratulated the beneficiaries and implored them to use it judiciously.
According to her, the current recession makes it mandatory for individuals to be prudent and enjoined them to adjust their lifestyle to the economic realities, saying: “This is the evening season of your life and it is expedient to manage your level of expenditure so as to reduce the stress that can hamper your health.
“Most importantly, be contented and avoid quick gains as many schemes designed to empower you are actually traps to deprive you of what you laboured for.”
“This Administration is very much interested in your wellbeing and as such, the Commission intends to keep in touch with you often in order to get feedback on your lives out of office and how the State could be of help,” she added.
Head of the Technical Department, LASPEC, Mr Olawale Otun, also educated the retirees on the importance of writing will and on how to process their Retirement Benefit Bond Certificates and the two exit options available to them.
Meanwhile, the beneficiaries have expressed gratitude to the state government for its consistency in the payment of terminal benefits.
