Osun pensioners fronting for politicians, says right groups
By Ibidapo Ojo


Osun State pensioners have been asked to show reasonable understanding on the finances of the state instead of making political statements that portray them as rookies of partisan interests.
In a press statement on Monday, the Yoruba Development Union, (YODEU) said the Osun State pensioners should learn to make demands without playing electoral politics with it. The statement signed by the group's President Ayobami Falayi described the statement credited to the Retired Servants of Osun State asking President Mohammadu Buhari no to release the new tranche for the payment of retirees and workers to Osun State as "unreasonable." The money does not belong to the Governor but to the people of Osun State. The statement was made available to Irohinoodua.

The Chairman of the group, Omoniyi Ilesanmi and Secretary Sola Olojede had asked Buhari not to release the funds saying it would be diverted.

But the YODEU President said the leaders of the pensioners association are talking as if they are stark illiterates who underrate the intelligence of the average Osun person.
"The letter to President Buhari by this group is political. They are more or less calling for the seizure of statutory allocation to Osun people. They are calling for economic sanctions. This amounts to a declaration of war on the people of Osun state. it goes beyond the demand for the payment of pensioners, but outright political demand to squeece and stifle the government so as to make it easy prey for the opposition in the 2018 gubernatorial election which is the real motive of the leadership of the pensioners association.' The group said the key leaders of the pensioners association were the same people that fought against the victory of the All Peoples Congress, (APC) in the last state and Presidential elections adding that the inadequate payment of pensioners has suddenly become their political tool.

Falayi said 'The association of retirees have been hijacked by political interests whose utterances are influenced by the 2018 Osun gubernatorial election. The association leaders were talking as if they have no basic knowledge on how state transactions are made. How on earth can a Governor divert Paris loan repay when the money is not being paid into his personal account.? We urge the pensioners association leadership to think deeply before issuing frivolous statements. We urge journalists who rush to the newsroom to publish anything coming from this group not to rely on handouts from a clearly partisan lot, but to do more of investigative reporting."
Falayi said the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola had designed an economic model that places priority on payment of workers based on categories. This involves a lot of sacrifice from the Governor and the political office holders. No state in Nigeria has adopted this people-driven and revolutionary method. The workers and the labour union in the state know how much Osun State receives from the Federal Government every month. The Governor has designed a cost effective mechanism for disbursement which is a reflection of the dwindling economic fortunes of Nigeria in general. The pensioners should know that the entire income of Osun state cannot be devoted to the payment of pensioners. Health, education, roads, salaries of other workers needed to be paid. Osun is not the only state owing pensioners. Almost all the 36 states are indebted to pensioners. It is only in Osun that pensioners have been speaking for the opposition, rented an apartment, employed public relations consultants and even have official vehicles. It is certain that they are being funded by political groups who are using them in pursuance of the 2018 gubernatorial election.
Falayi said pensioners in the state should wrestle the leadership of otherwise a professional group from rascals and money mongers who set up the association for parochial political interests in the first place.
"We urge Omoniyi Ilesanmi and Sola Olojede should resign from their positions and officially join the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the state. We know the game. They speak as if they earn monthly stipends from the PDP and as if their press releases are drafted in the secretariat of the PDP. The ill informed utterances of the pensioners continue to undermine the credibility of their case in the eyes of the public", Falayi said.