- Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state has paid a total of N37, 546 billion to pensioners since 2015
- This was contained in a statement signed by the director of Lagos State Pension Commission, Folashade Onanuga
- The figure represented the total pension paid to 9,045 retirees of the state
The Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state has paid a total of N37, 546 billion to pensioners since 2015.
According to a statement signed by the director general of LASPEC, Folashade Onanuga, on Sunday, June 3 in Lagos, the figure represented the total pension paid to 9,045 retirees of the state, NAN reports.
NAIJ.com notes that the LASPEC director general said the governor released N859, 059 million to offset the Accrued Pension Rights of 158 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in May.
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She said earlier that N859, 059 million was paid to 158 public service retirees, bringing the total pension paid by the governor since assumption of office to N37, 546 billion.
She explained that the governor had been releasing funds every month to off-set the backlog of pension to Lagos retirees.
She said despite the high funding obligations of the current pension scheme, the government was committed to offsetting the backlog of pension, and would soon commence payment to 2016 retirees.
Onanuga said the government was fine-tuning the process of rolling out benefits that would make life easier for retirees.
She said: “I, however, implore the retirees to study leaflets distributed by the state government on Annuity and Programmed Withdrawal for receipt of monthly pension entitlements, before picking their choice."
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state said that out of the state’s 22 million residents, only 600,000 pay taxes.
Ambode made his comments while speaking during a sensitisation workshop at the 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Exhibition and Conference (WATEC) which took place at Ikeja, Lagos.
According to Ambode, the non-payment of taxes led to a shortage of funds available to the state government.
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Source: Naija.ng