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The Oyo State Government has disbursed the sum of N199, 723,306.86 to offset the outstanding gratuities of 76 retirees.
The Oyo State Head of Service, Mrs Olawumi Ogunesan, while disbursing the cheques on behalf of the State Government at the Old Ministry of Establishment and Training, Secretariat, Ibadan, assured that government will continue to pay the gratuities to the pensioners based on merit without any influence or favour.
The HOS noted that the disbursement was meant for the payment of year 2012 gratuity for the retired civil servants and teachers, under the payroll of the state government across all the grade levels.
Mrs Ogunesan added that government is making concerted efforts to ease the pains of the pensioners in the state.
She appealed to those that are yet to receive theirs not to lose hope, noting that efforts are in top gear to ensure that all gratuites were settled as soon as possible.
Mrs Ogunesan advised the beneficiaries not to venture into any business without having an in-depth knowledge of it. He also warned them to beware of fraudsters while trying to invest their money.
Speaking on behalf of beneficiaries, Mr Ezekiel Oyedele and Mrs Akinade Mojirade thanked Governor Abiola Ajimobi for releasing the huge amount of money as their gratuities despite the paucity of funds in the state. They expressed gladness that the procedures followed in paying the money was purely on merits as nobody collected anything from them before releasing the money.
In September, the state government announced the release of over N200 million for the payment of year 2011 to January, 2012 gratuities for the retired civil servants and teachers.