From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
A member of the House of Representatives representing Remo Federal Constituency, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, has identified delay in the payment of pension of retirees as the main reason why most serving civil servants in Nigeria engage in corrupt practices.
Adebutu, who is the chairman, House Committee of Rural Development, stated this at the weekend in Abeokuta while fielding questions from journalists, shortly after he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Nollywood actor, Prince Samuel Adesanya, popularly known as Pastor Ajidara.
According to him, the delay in the payment of pensions, would always trigger workers desire to amass wealth in shady manners why still in active service.
He said the late actor who was still expecting his gratuity put at N4m from the state government wouldn’t have died if his entitlements had been paid.
“It is a settled matter that when people put a lifetime of work into a system that is pensionable, it is a contract, you should just simply pay their pension. When these pensions are not paid for various reasons, to my view it is a financial rascality, when the money is misappropriated for other purposes.
“It is unkind because when you withhold any person’s pension, you are sending the wrong signal to next generation that don’t worry but you will not necessarily get your pension, your dues and it is also destroying hope. That also encourages corruption because there will be desire to amass as much as possible any which way so that when the day of pension comes they will have a nest to go back.
“If we truly abide by that contract, you work hard and you are pensionable, you get your pension then the society will be better.
“I think the late actor had an outstanding pension of about N4m, and I believe if he had received at least part of the pension, the gentle man would have had N1.3m for the surgery and might not have passed away”. He stated.
Adebutu, who said he was not aware of the late actor’s ailment until his death, however, donated the sum of N500,000 to his widow, Atinuke Adesanya and the family.