Appeal Letter To Governor Biodun Oyebanji On Ekiti Pensioners’ Outstanding Gratuities By Peter Ajayi Dada
“I shall pass through this world but once.
“Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now.
“Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again’’… Ex Libris.
Your Excellency, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, popularly referred to as BAO, the governor of Ekiti State, the above quote encapsulates why God created human beings on earth and if they can follow it as their article of faith, there will be peace everywhere.
However, I have decided to write this appeal letter to you, having observed happenings in the state from the sidelines for some time now, especially concerning the current plights of the pensioners in the state whose gratuities have not been paid for almost a decade now.
I stumbled on a Save Our Soul /appeal message from them in one of the WhatsApp platforms that I belong to, hence this my appeal letter to you Mr Governor.
The SOS message goes thus unedited : “We, the concerned citizens of Ekiti State, humbly made a passionate appeal to the State Executive Council, the three Distinguished Senators, all Members of the House of Representatives, the Traditional Council, and other respected political leaders in Ekiti State to kindly wade into the pressing issue of the unpaid outstanding gratuities to Ekiti State Pensioners in the past 10 Years (2015-2025).
“Our senior citizens, who have served the State meritoriously in different capacities, are facing untold hardship due to the non-payment of their entitlements.
“Many retirees are dying silently, some cannot afford essential drugs, while others are living in pain and poverty after years of selfless service to the development of our dear State.
“We earnestly plead with all stakeholders to advise and encourage His Excellency, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, to urgently look into this matter and give priority to the payment of these outstanding gratuities.
“Doing so will not only bring relief to our aged parents and grandparents but will also demonstrate the compassionate and people-oriented governance that Ekiti State is known for.
“The entire NUP in Ekiti State had earlier in the second quarter of this year 2025 spoke with one voice to adopt BAO for Second term in Office, but it’s unrealistic this is a testament for the continuity of the good work His Excellency has demonstrated as a pathfinder leader in Ekiti State in almost 3 years in Office.
“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the dignity of our senior citizens is preserved and that they live their retirement years in peace, comfort, and joy.
“May God bless Ekiti State, our leaders, our Senior Citizens and Federal Republic of Nigeria,We meet and we said no to continuity of bad government in ekiti state.”
Mr Governor Sir, I had thought your administration would have resumed the payment of gratuities to the senior citizens after the successful conduct of the elections into the Executive Council of the Ekiti State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) held some months ago.
I gathered reliably that the conduct of the elections was delayed by the unhealthy rivalries between the suspended Executive Council (Exco) and the caretaker committee of the Ekiti State chapter of the NUP.
That was adduced as the reason that led to the alleged stoppage of the payment of gratuities over time.
With the coast now clear, the continuous payment of gratuities should be a roller-coaster thing in the Fountain of Knowledge state now.
Your Excellency, I doff my cap to you and your administration for your special interest in the welfare of the senior citizens your administration has considered very paramount since your assumption of office.
Your belief that the senior citizens, both dead and those still alive, contributed immensely toward laying the solid foundation for the state since its creation while successive administrations have continued to build on it up till yours is a manifestation of your concern for their welfare which no doubt you have placed as a top priority.
I have been following with keen interest how your administration has been offsetting the backlogs of pension arrears and gratuities owed pensioners in the state by the previous and current administrations and that action of yours is highly commendable.
Available records showed that the gratuities of Primary school retirees had been paid up till sometime in 2014, that of the Local Government retirees had been cleared up to mid 2017 and that of the state Civil Servants had been cleared up till 2015 respectively by your administration.
If only it is those owed by your administration that you have been offsetting, by now you would have heaved a sigh of relief but since government and governance are a continuum, you had inherited both assets and liabilities from your predecessors -in-office.
May God grant you and your administration the strength to carry the several crosses of being the current governor of Ekiti State.
From information gathered, the messy mess being cleared by the present administration was not initiated
by it, though government entails inheriting assets and liabilities.
Unfortunately, those who brought about the sour grapes are sleeping comfortably in their comfort zones.
A great lesson for all to always make people in corridors of power accountable for their deeds and misdeeds while still in power and after.
Nevertheless, Mr Governor, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, whether golden or thorny.
As the saying goes in America, the buck stops on the table of Mr President so also for Mr Governor in Ekiti State.
Do not ignore or abandon the senior citizens during this period of their need for survival.
That is an integral part of good governance. Also remember that the children of today will end up being fathers tomorrow or succinctly put the Young Shall Grow.
Posterity will surely judge you either good or bad concerning how you handled state matters during your tenure; it is a matter of time.
Act now because procrastination remains the thief of time.
Do not leave till tomorrow what you have the power to do today for your fellow human beings as nobody is sure of tomorrow.
Mr Governor, do not allow your political opponents to cash-in on the likely crack the stoppage of the senior citizens gratuities may cause among your supporters.
A stitch in time saves nine. Several citizens of the state have been rating your administration’s performances high, kindly keep up that momentum.
The hopes of the pensioners that were high before have begun to dampen and dashed because they are unsure of when they are likely going to receive their long overdue gratuities.
One can deduce from their body language that majority of them are at present hungry and angry with the state government.
Since a hungry man is an angry man, he may not think twice before accepting any form of incentives from any source to satisfy his hunger and douse his anger.
May our senior citizens who had spent their prime and youthful ages in diligently and devotedly serving the state and by extension, the country, never end up regretting their actions as a result of the neglect and abandonment by not paying them their legitimately due entitlements. Amen.
Both the embattled Akinola-led Exco and the Popoola-led Caretaker Committee, should reconcile whatever differences between themselves so that those they were elected to represent will feel their positive impact.
Let us all remember that he who goes to equity goes with a clean hand.
Our duty is service to God and humanity and when the people we are rendering services to say we have served them enough, let’s always take our exit gloriously since it is always better to leave the stage when the ovation is loudest.
Rendering service in whatever ramifications must not translate into sit-tight-in-office syndrome as everybody must be ready to embrace change which is the most constant phenomenon in life.
We must not keep waiting for change to happen miraculously, it has to be accompanied by our being humane and responsible in our actions and inactions because every privilege entails corresponding responsibility not minding our levels or areas of operations.
It is a great disservice that the negative and unwholesome actions of a few people are causing discomfort to several hundreds of others.
“God dey o’ and is watching our deeds, actions and intentions from his heavenly throne.
Where is conscience in this instance?
Based on the current purchasing power and the value of the naira, what tangible thing can the retirees buy with their gratuities in case they are paid off today compared to the purchasing value it had eight, nine, ten or even five years ago?
It is time the public begins to hold those occupying public offices accountable for their stewardship whether within the secular or spiritual lives during and after they must have exited from such exalted positions.
Those elected to lead the NUP and other unions should always have it at the back of their minds that a day of reckoning will come when they will be asked for their stewardship.
Then they should be ready to accept responsibilities for both the good and the bad they must have done while serving their people in the spirit of humility.
They must be ready to apologise for offences committed while serving their people instead of engaging in blame-game rhetoric as such usually hinders progress and development.
The senior citizens and their elected leaders should remember that the governor has much on his table to attend to on a daily basis; hence, there should be little or no distractions from those who ordinarilly should be offering him workable advice aimed at advancing the growth and the development of Ekiti State.
I urge them to continue to pray for the governor that God should grant him the spirit of discernment needed to find amicable resolutions to their plights.
I sympathise with the pensioners because he who feels it knows it and and knows how the shoe pinches based on an endless waiting for the Godot: that is- when will the government pay our gratuities.
You should come together, bombard the heavens with your supplications and God will surely answer your prayers.
Also, support your leadership that is recognised by the state government and your national body by presenting your grievances and current impasse with maturity and respect to the State Governor.
If you had done that before, do not rest on your oars by following it up with more appeals to Mr Governor and as well as carrying along all the major and recognized stakeholders in the state. Know that it is not over until it is over.
I implore you all to stop the warfare on the various social media platforms especially the WhatsApp platform where you are creating more enmity among yourselves and washing your dirty linen in a flowing ocean.
It belittles your status as fathers, mothers and in some cases, grandparents.
Rather , learn to tolerate yourselves, be patient and exhibit perseverance among yourselves because this cloudy season shall soon pass away and you will all smile at God’s appointed time.
*Dada, a former editorial staff of NAN writes from Lagos.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
