LAGOS State government said it has paid about N22bn as pensions and gratuity in the last 12 months. Commissioner for Establishment, Training, and Pensions, Dr Akintola Benson Oke, disclosed this while giving an account of his ministry’s activities at the on-going 2018 ministerial press briefing to mark the third anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration.
Oke, while giving a breakdown of the payment, said from May 2017 to date, contributions by employees and that of the employer credited into the Retirement Savings Account is N9.56billion while another N9.3billion was paid as terminal entitlements of 2,466 retirees.
According to him, a total of N3.2 billion was also paid within the last one year as a pension by Civil Service Pensions Office, Teachers Establishment and Pensions and Judiciary Service Commission.
On pension deduction and remittance, the commissioner said there had been regular deductions of 7.5 percent of monthly basic salary, rent and housing allowances from the salaries of staff and corresponding 7.5 percent by the state government into the Retirement Savings Accounts maintained by their appointed Pension Fund Administrators.
Speaking further, the commissioner said N220 millions was paid to 80 beneficiaries of deceased employees during the period under review, adding that the state government in the last 31 months also paid N392 million as insurance benefits to 130 beneficiaries through the Commission.
“During the period under review, 80 beneficiaries of deceased employees had been paid the total sum of N220 millions. The state government in the last 31 months has through the Commission paid to 130 beneficiaries Insurance benefit worth N392 million,” he said.
This was just as he disclosed that about 8,000 pensioners, aged 70 years and above, shall benefit from distribution of welfare packages from the state government.
According to him, pre-Retirement Training Workshop for prospective retirees in the Year 2018 to prepare the beneficiaries for post-service life is also in the offing, saying that this “Life in Retirement” would include “entrepreneurship training, how to access their Retirement Savings Accounts and the process of disengagement from the service.”
Giving a further breakdown of achievements of his ministry, Dr Oke said 3,520 officers attended 35 In-plant Training Programmes Service-wide between May 2017 and March 2018, while 9 top government officials were sponsored for International Training programmes, with a total of 30 officers also sponsored to local workshops/seminars during the period under review.
He said 100 directors between GL. 15 and 17 benefit from a workshop in conjunction with the Local Government Service Commission, while 50 directors were nominated from relevant MDAs to the World Data Privacy Day Seminar.
