A man on Thursday, October 15, narrated the sad situation of his 68-year-old father who is yet to get his gratuity of about N5 million eleven years after his retirement as a school principal in Oyo State.
The man, whose verified X handle is Agbaakin of Europe, said his father joined the Oyo State civil service in 1980 and retired in July 2015 as a school principal on Grade Level 16 after serving the state for 35 years.
He said while in service and in his teaching days, he was regarded as one of the best Agricultural Science teachers and was well respected by his students based on his excellent teaching skills.
“The last time we spoke, I asked again about his gratuity, he told me he’s yet to receive it 11 years after retirement,” the son said.
He added that his father, whose name he didn’t mention for fear of possible victimisation, won’t stop talking about it as he said it was his sweat, just as the son said he was sure his father is currently not a happy man as he hopes to receive his gratuity during his lifetime.
“How much is the money? Approximately N5 million if I don’t make mistake. Pray, does the government want my dad dead before they pay him his gratuity? He asked.
Some of his followers expressed worries about the situation and spoke about what their retired parents also went through, with one of them saying his dad’s gratuity had not been paid nine years after his death.
@FurkanAkeyede: “Sad reality of many civil servants. Well, my dad’s own is yet to be paid nine years after his death. May Allah make it possible in earnest.”
Olatunde wrote: “It’s the previous administration that caused this delay. They didn’t pay for eight years and now, they started paying from 2011. If they should continue like this, the current government can’t finish it also. You can’t see anyone that retired between 2019 and 2023 complaining.”
Akanmu Wasiu wrote: “Sorry about that, but one thing that worked for my parents is that they were regular visitors at the Ministry of Establishments in Secretariat. And does he belong to any pensioner group like those regional groups that have direct access to govt for engagements?”
@badruafees34: “This is the sad reality of many retired civil servants in our country. What is Oyo State government doing with the huge allocations coming from Federal Government that they can’t pay the retired people their entitlements? Oyo State government should do something about this.”
