Ogun State, Commissioner for Finance, Mr Adewale Oshinowo
It was drama in Ogun State yesterday as angry pensioners on
Thursday locked up the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Adewale
Oshinowo, in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital.
According to Vanguard, the pensioners were protesting over the
failure of the state government to pay two months pensions of local
government retirees. After storming the office complex in the morning,
the protesters under the aegis of Association of Local Government
Pensioners immediately blocked the two entrances leading to the office.
In the ensuing melee, workers at the Ministry of Finance and
others were prevented from gaining access to their offices and
departments and those inside were stopped from coming out.
However, it was alleged by the chairman, Sikiru Ayilara, that the
finance commissioner had earlier sneaked out of the office of the
Accountant-General of the state in attempt to avoid them.
The pensioners claimed that no fewer than 60 members of the association had died in the last two months.
Osinowo who later appeared to the pensioners after about 30 minutes
of laying siege in his office immediately went into a close door
meeting with the leadership of the union which lasted for about an
hour.
Newsmen and other members of the union were however barred from the
meeting held at the Ministry’s conference room. During the meeting, two
of the protesting pensioners slumped but, were later revived by their
colleagues some of whom rushed out of the meeting.
Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Osinowo attributed the delay
in payment of May, 2016 pensions to communication gap between the
ministry and the pensioners.
He explained that the money had been paid by the government to the
bank handling the account but that the bank has failed to credit the
bureau of local government.
Osinowo however promised not to leave his office yesterday until
the bank complied with the directive to pay the pensioners within six
hours.
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