The Ondo State Government has commenced the payment of ₦3.82 billion in outstanding gratuities to 985 retired public servants, in a move Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said was aimed at addressing obligations inherited from previous administrations.
The payment was formally flagged off by Aiyedatiwa, who described the outstanding gratuities owed to former workers as a “debt of honour” that government must fulfil. He said his administration had adopted a systematic approach to reducing the backlog rather than leaving retirees waiting indefinitely for their entitlements.
The beneficiaries covered by the latest disbursement are drawn from different parts of the state’s public service. They include 509 retirees from the 2020 batch and another 476 beneficiaries from the 2015–2019 batches.
The retirees come from the mainstream civil service, secondary schools and state parastatals, reflecting the broad range of public institutions from which the beneficiaries retired after completing their service.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony, Aiyedatiwa acknowledged the scale of the financial obligations inherited by his administration, noting that the state had taken on billions of naira in outstanding gratuity liabilities.
According to the governor, the government has chosen to tackle the accumulated obligations through a structured payment process. He maintained that settling what is owed to former public servants is part of the state’s responsibility to people who spent their working years serving Ondo State.
“This is a debt of honour,” Aiyedatiwa said, emphasising that government has an obligation to meet its commitments to workers who served the state and became entitled to gratuity payments after leaving active employment.
The governor also linked the payment programme to his broader approach to governance, arguing that an administration should not measure its performance only by the number of new projects it initiates.
He said addressing inherited liabilities is equally important because unresolved obligations can continue to affect citizens long after the administration that incurred or inherited them has changed.
Aiyedatiwa therefore pledged that his administration would work towards clearing all inherited gratuity arrears before the end of his tenure. The commitment places the ongoing payment programme within a wider effort to resolve outstanding financial obligations to retired public servants.
For the retirees receiving payments under the current exercise, the disbursement represents the settlement of entitlements that had remained outstanding for years. The beneficiaries include retirees from several different batches, with the latest payment bringing together claims from the 2020 group as well as those who retired between 2015 and 2019.
The state government has also urged retirees who have not completed the required verification process to do so. The verification exercise is necessary for those who have yet to complete the process to be considered for subsequent payment rounds.
The call for verification means that the latest disbursement does not necessarily represent the end of the state’s gratuity payment programme. Instead, the government intends to continue processing eligible beneficiaries as it works through the inherited backlog.
Representatives of the beneficiaries welcomed the development and commended the state government for beginning another round of gratuity payments.
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners also praised the governor’s action, describing the disbursement as a significant step in the state’s efforts to meet its obligations to retirees.
For the beneficiaries, the financial relief comes after prolonged waiting for payments due to them following their retirement from government service. The retirees expressed appreciation to the state government, stressing the importance of receiving the entitlements they had been expecting.
The payment also underscores the financial pressures faced by governments attempting to resolve accumulated pension and gratuity obligations while continuing to fund other areas of governance.
Aiyedatiwa, however, said his administration would continue to give attention to the welfare of retirees alongside its other responsibilities. He stressed that public servants who devoted their careers to the state should not be abandoned once they leave active service.
The governor’s position places retiree welfare among the priorities of the administration, particularly as the government continues its effort to address inherited obligations.
The ₦3.82 billion payment to 985 retirees is therefore being presented by the state government as part of a continuing process rather than an isolated financial intervention. The administration says it intends to maintain the systematic approach until the outstanding gratuity liabilities inherited from previous administrations are cleared.
Aiyedatiwa also reiterated that settling the obligations owed to retirees would continue alongside the government’s other development programmes across Ondo State.
The latest disbursement consequently represents another stage in the state’s stated plan to reduce and eventually eliminate inherited gratuity arrears. With 985 retirees included in the current payment, the government has signalled its intention to continue addressing outstanding claims while encouraging beneficiaries who have not completed verification to regularise their records for consideration in subsequent exercises.
For retired workers and their representatives, the payment provides immediate relief while also raising expectations that the remaining backlog will continue to receive attention.
Aiyedatiwa’s pledge to clear all inherited gratuity arrears before the end of his tenure now places the administration’s future payment exercises under a clear commitment: to ensure that former public servants who are owed gratuities receive their outstanding entitlements while the state continues with its wider development agenda.
Ondo Releases ₦3.82bn Gratuity for 985 Retirees as Aiyedatiwa Targets Clearance of Arrears
