The Ondo State Head of Service, Pastor Kayode Ogundele, FCIPM, has reaffirmed the commitment of the Akeredolu-led administration to the welfare of retirees in the state.
The Head of Service made this position known while receiving the newly inaugurated Executive Members of the Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Service, Ondo State branch in at the weekend in Akure, the state capital.
While noting that the public service is dynastic and requires a connection with the past, Ogundele said there would be the need to continually tap from the wealth of experience of the top-notch bureaucrats in the quest to move the system forward.
According to him, government meets with union leaders monthly after receiving federal allocation and sets aside reasonable amount to take care of the benefits of retirees.
He added that Governor Akeredolu recently approved funds to clear all the arrears of the retirees in the Owena Press, publisher of The Hope Newspaper and it had since been cleared.
He said while government had fulfilled its promise to clear arrears of workers’ salaries, he said efforts were on to replicate the feat in the area of retirees’ gratuities.
The Head of service informed the gathering that Gov. Akeredolu also recently approved the payment of the consequential adjustment occasioned by the current minimum wage on the pension of the state retirees, making Ondo State the first to implement the payment of the increment in the federation.
In his words, ‘we need people who are vast in the knowledge and experience of what the system is all about to be able to assist us and give us an insight of what has been happening in the past and see how to connect the past with the present,’ he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the President of the association and former Secretary to the State Government and Head of Service Prince Fioye Bajowa, applauded the state government for giving the welfare of members priority in the scheme of things.
He assured the HOS that members of the association are ready at all times to look for ways to support the state government.
‘We want to seize this opportunity to show, through you, our appreciation to the Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who among his peers that have ruled the state has been very considerate and sympathetic about the problems of retired civil servants,’ he expressed.
Sina Adeyeye,
Director (Information)
Office of the HoS
