The present government in Ogun State has paid over N2.5 Billion as severance allowance to ex-political office holders who served at both Local and State levels between 2007 and 2015.
The Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun disclosed this during the presentation of cheques to another batch of 793 beneficiaries at the Arcade ground of the Governor's Office Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
According to him, his administration began the payment of Severance Allowance to former Political Office Holders on Tuesday, 24th June, 2014 while the second batch of payment was held on Wednesday, 28th December, 2016.
" Those two exercises concluded the payment for all Political Office Holders who served at the State level since 2007. This final batch representing 793 beneficiaries, is for Political Office Holders who served at the Local Government level from 2007 till 2015" Amosun explained.
He emphasised that while his government has been consistent with the payment of allowances to political office holders , it has also been been committed to the payment of gratuities and pensions to retired civil servants.
"Since the inception of our Administration, we have kept faith with the payment of gratuities and pensions to retired Public Servants. It is important that, as we kept on paying retirement benefits to Civil Servants, we must also do the same for their political counterparts" Amosun said.
He however assured that his administration would pay all outstanding payments before the expiration of his tenure noting that more legacy projects would be commissioned even till the last day in office.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, ChiefJide Ojuko described the gesture of the governor as another demonstration of his love and commitment towards the welfare of ex-political office holders in spite of constraints of paucity of funds against several competing demands for the resources of the State.
" I cannot but appreciate sincerely our people-oriented governor who has not only been magnanimous to politial office holders while in office but also after they have served meritoriously" Ojuko stated.
The Commissioner congratulated the beneficiaries and thank them for their co-operation and patience while calling on successive governments to give due cognizance to payment of severance allowance to deserving former public office holders as guaranteed by the law.
In their goodwill messages, a former chairman of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government, Chief Abayomi Tella, his Remo North counterpart, Hon. John Obafemi and a former Secretary in Odeda Local Government, Mrs. Kehinde Adefuye appreciated the magnanimity of the State Government noting that the payment was not expected especially at this critical period of the economy adding that ogun state was one of the few states that had fulfilled the promise of paying severance allowance in Nigeria.
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