The Governor,Ekiti State, Nigeria , Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has brought smiles to the faces of pensioners in the state with the payment of arrears of pension to 1,755 beneficiaries to the tune of over N1 billion.

The breakdown of the beneficiaries is made up of 1,045 pensioners who worked as local government council staff and primary school teachers and 710 pensioners who worked in the state civil service and teachers in secondary schools.

Retired local government workers and primary school teachers received N251.3 million for the month of May, their counterparts who worked in the civil service and served as teachers in secondary schools got N252.6 million for the same month.

In similar vein, retired council workers and primary school teachers got N250.8 million for the month of May, retired core civil servants and secondary school teachers received N250.6 million for the same month.

The Chairman of the State Pension Commission, Chief Oluwole Ojo, said the gesture was borne out of Governor Fayemi’s interest in ensuring that those who have served the government meritoriously are taken care of in retirement.

Ojo disclosed that the payment of the pension for the retirees is spread between April 2013 and January 2014.

He explained that modalities have been put in place at the various pay points in the state to prevent ghost pensioners from benefiting from the exercise.

The Pension Commission boss noted that government’s gesture to the retirees would boost the economy in the grassroots and assist the retirees in taking care of their needs.

He noted that Governor Fayemi has proved to be a friend of the senior citizens in the state with the implementation of the Social Security Scheme for the aged in which old people receive N5,000 stipends monthly.

According to him, the governor in September last year approved N501 million for payment of gratuities to 269 retirees.

Ojo commended the  Governor for taking the plight of the old people into consideration, for taking it upon himself not to allow these people to die in penury.

Ojo however urged workers who are still in service to key into the Contributory Pension Scheme which he described as an antidote to the various problems confronting the pension administration in Nigeria.