Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has once again brought smiles to the faces of pensioners, state civil servants, secondary school teachers and local government workers by splashing over N584 millionas gratuity, car and housing loans on them.
The beneficiaries could not hide their joy at a ceremony held at Jibowu Hall, Government House, Ado-Ekiti, where they received their cheques and showered encomiums on the Governor for the gesture.
Benefiting from the largesse are core civil servants who were given N103.7 million as car loans and N85 million as land and housing loans.
Local government workers got N40 million as car and housing loans while secondary school teachers were lifted with N103.4 as car loans and N52.5 million as housing loans.
State pensioners received N100 million as gratuity the same sum(N100million) was also presented to local government pensioners as gratuity with the two categories of retirees smiling home with N200 million as gratuity.
Distributing the cheques to the beneficiaries, Dr. Fayemi said the gesture was in demonstration of his commitment to fulfilling the electioneering promises of prioritizing the welfare of workers in active service and to ensuring that those who had retired had maximum enjoyment during their retirement years.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, Dr. Fayemi stressed that the welfare packages for workers and retirees were pointers to the determination and commitment of his administration aimed at improving and prioritizing the lots of the people and the fulfillment of promises made to Ekiti-Kete during his electioneering campaign.
The Governor said: “This administration has been consistent with this process of paying gratuity and releasing loans to our civil servants.
“The approved sum for the land/housing loans will be disbursed to 700 beneficiaries at sum varying from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand depending on grade levels and purpose.
“By the special grace of God, we are determined to sustain this trend, even better than what we are doing at the moment.”
The Governor said that core civil servants were getting car and housing loan cheques for the second time within 2019, revealing that a total of N55 million cheques were distributed in the first month of the year.
Dr. Fayemi in consonance with his good governance agenda, also agreed on the payment of gratuity on the basis of “First to Retire, first to be paid” with a directive to the Pension Transition Arrangement Department at the State and Local Government to adhere the transparency policy.
The Governor, who noted that some retirees were owing Housing Loans Board to the tune of N324 million as at September, 2019, directed that anyone with less than four years to retirement from service would no longer be availed the opportunity to access government loans.
He added that anyone whose net pay was less than 50% of his/her gross salary would be disqualified from taking loan, this the governor said would made the loans board financially viable in discharging its responsibilities.
Dr. Fayemi solicited for the cooperation, commitment, dedication and prayers to actualize the promises of his administration to Ekiti workers and the people of the State.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr. Adeleke Oladele, gladly revealed that the loan would go a long way in ameliorating his plight with a plea to the state government to sustain the development.
A benefiting pensioner, Mr. Segun Adelusi, who said retirees had never had it so good in the history of the state, lauded Governor Fayemi for rescuing many of them from post-retirement hunger and poverty.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the State Head of Service, Mr. Ayodeji Ajayi, commended Governor Fayemi for his commitment to his electioneering promises in prioritizing the welfare of workers in spite of meager resources accruing to the state.
Mr. Ajayi, who charged civil servants to respond diligently to the gesture by performing their duties efficiently and effectively, mentioned that “as at today 336 retirees had collected their gratuities which had long overdue”.
He said: “This is indeed a cause for happiness in the Civil Service system of the state. The government vowed to put smiles on the faces of the people and that is being achieved today.”
The State Chairman of Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Elder Ayo Ikumapayi, who applauded the governor for the gesture, said the release of N100 million monthly to defray gratuity arrears has increased the rays of hope of pensioners in the state.
