Edo begins payment of 37 years arrears to local council pensionaers

The Edo State government has commenced the payment of pension arrears owed to retired Council workers between 1984 and 2021.

In a statement, the Edo State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Monday Osaigbovo, said the payment would be in batches.

He said the payment was in furtherance of Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s commitment to the welfare of workers and retirees in the state.

Osaigbovo said: “In line with the government promise in our earlier letter dated January 20, 2023 (LGSPB/469/T1/91), the Local Government Staff Pensions Board has started the payment in batches of the huge pension arrears owed to her retired Local Government workers in the state between 1984 and 2021.”

It stated that the government’s commitment to the retirees was in line with the ongoing revamp of the state’s civil and public service, engendering responsive and technology-driven service delivery, as well as governance models, thereby, impacting greatly the lives and productivity of the state’s public workers.

Already, the state government has expended over N25 billion in clearing the pension arrears of pensioners in the state.

Meanwhile, the Edo State government has also implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), as against the Derived Benefits Scheme.

This ensures that civil servants are well-catered for after their active years in service.

The state has further initiated a group life insurance policy for its civil servants and has paid over N500 million to families of deceased civil servants.