Lagos State government says it paid over N63 billion as gratuity to 19,814 retirees in the last five years.
The Commissioner for Establishments and Training, Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo revealed this at the ongoing Y2024 Press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja.
He said the retirees paid were from the Mainstream, Local Government and other parastatals of the state government.
Ayantayo also disclosed that the State Government has implemented a pension review under the Defined Benefit Scheme in January, 2024 with the approval of over N109 Billion for the adjustment by the Governor following the directive of the Federal Government.
The review, according to him, involved applying various percentage increases based on individual pension amounts.
While noting that the state government prioritises improving the lives of retirees , he said the state will continue to maintain its leading role in the administration of the scheme and payment of pension obligations.
The Commissioner said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has made significant progress by tackling backlogs of outstanding pension benefits and trying to implement a Pay-As-You-Go model for future retirees.
He disclosed that the Administration has also paid over N16billion to retirees from February 2023 to April, 2024 in line with the promise made by the governor to systematically eliminate the backlog of outstanding pensions.
In his words : “The Lagos State government had taken various initiatives to enhance the welfare of its retirees by ensuring that the processing and payment of retirees’ benefits are promptly processed by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), introducing Complaint Forms for retirees against PFAs, redesigning modalities of the Inspection Report to include the use of parameters to rate the performances of PFAs and Annuity Service Providers.
“Other measures include the proposition to Annuity Service Providers to create an emergency/best friend phone number and Annuitant forum for retirees in Lagos State as well as the creation of WhatsApp group for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to facilitate effective follow-up and ensure strict compliance with the prompt payment of retirement benefits.’
Similarly, the Commissioner disclosed that the introduction of Learning Management System in year 2020 made it possible for the state Government to train over 60,000 officers in a year.
He explained that the initiative significantly increased the number of Officers trained and addressed the growing demands and challenges facing the State Public Service.
Ayantayo stated that the accelerated capacity building embarked upon by the government resulted in significant increase in the number of officers trained and retrained during the period under review.
He added that government has continued to demonstrate its commitment to building a skilled and knowledgeable workforce capable of driving positive change and delivering effective services to the citizenry.
As part of efforts to building internal capacity, he revealed that 120
officers were sponsored to various professional conferences to improve their knowledge while 3,087 Officers were given approval to further their studies and acquire advanced qualifications relevant to their jobs.
The Commissioner also informed that a three-month exchange programme is currently ongoing and aimed at ensuring that officers in the public Service gain practical knowledge while exposing them to best practices and new techniques.
He pointed out that the Ministry has shifted training approach to a
workshop/experiential mode which is designed to ensure that participants grasp the theoretical concepts as well as have the opportunity to contextualise their learning within their Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
(vitalnewsngr.com)
