By Dipo Olowookere
The sum of N280 million has been paid to beneficiaries of deceased staff of Lagos State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) and Local Government Councils.
The money was paid as insurance benefits to the beneficiaries by the Lagos State government in conjunction with LASACO Assurance Plc.
During the presentation ceremony on Wednesday, Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs in the state, Mr Muslim Folami, disclosed that 110 families, comprising 53 dependants of deceased Local Government and 57 SUBEB staff respectively, will receive benefits in the first phase while the next phase of payments would be made before the end of 2018.
He maintained that the gesture was initiated to ameliorate the suffering of the dependants of the deceased staff.
Mr Folami, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Fola Padonu, recalled that the insurance company, LASACO Assurance Plc, in 2017, paid insurance benefits to a total number of 145 beneficiaries of deceased staff from SUBEB and Local Government Councils respectively, stressing that the consistency of the company over the years was commendable.
He praised Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for his steadfastness in granting approval of the benefits to enable prompt payment of insurance premium to the beneficiaries.
In his address, Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Mr Babatunde Rotinwa, urged the beneficiaries of deceased local government employees to be honest in administering the benefits received by ensuring that the interest of the departed is paramount even in death.
Also speaking at the event, the representative of LASACO, Deputy Managing Director, Technical, Mr Razaq Abiodun, said that the initiative of paying insurance benefits to relatives of the deceased staff was peculiar to Lagos State, attributing the gesture to the commitment of the State Government to staff welfare.
