The Ondo State Government has disclosed that a sum of N12 billion has been paid as gratuities to the retired members of staff of the 18 local governments of the state.
The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Amidu Takuro, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Akure, the state capital on Friday.
Takuro, however, explained that the current administration of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa started the payment of the gratuities from 2010 till 2014, expressing assurance that the remaining would be cleared.
According to the commissioner, the money was taken from the funds saved for the local government as decided at the state Joint Allocation Account meeting.
He said, ‘On gratuities, I want to say we spent over N10 to N12 billion for the payment of gratuities to the local government pensioners because we discovered that these people have provided their service meritoriously to the people of our states.
‘The governor said we have to look at how best we can start saving money for this purpose, and if we fail to come together at the JACC meeting, we will not be able to deduct any money for that purpose’.
The commissioner further stated that the Aiyedatiwa administration was ready to support President Bola Tinubu’s vision in developing the grassroots, noting that the administration had ensured that developmental projects were carried out in all the 18 local government areas of the state.
‘The Ondo State Government, under the leadership of Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is fully ready to support the vision of the president. The vision is about the development of the grassroots. That is the vision of the president, and the governor is keyed into that to make sure that without the development of our grassroots, even the central body will suffer for it’, the commissioner stated.
