Comrade Segun Abatan, Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo State branch, has praised Governor Seyi Makinde for alleviating the long-standing struggles of pensioners in the state. According to Abatan, the governor’s intervention brought an end to their years of frustration and hardship.
Abatan, who stated this during an interaction with The People’s Verdict, said before the advent of Makinde, pensioners were regarded as persona non grata and treated with disdain in Oyo State.
He continued, “When Seyi came we were afraid; whether he was going to toe the line of former governors. Lo and behold, he disappointed us by first of all announcing and placing his salary for the payment of pensioners. That was a masterstroke. Then, he stopped the payment of pensions in percentages. It was so bad, before he came, that pensions were paid maybe three times in a year. One month pension was always paid in three installments. So, if you calculate it, it would be payment of three or four months’ pensions in a year.
“We endured that for eight years before Seyi Makinde came on board. Since he came on board, Seyi Makinde has not defaulted for one month. Rather, he has increased the N250million he started with to about N1billion now. So, Seyi Makinde pays N1bn every month in gratuity.
“Seyi Makinde stopped our frustration; he wiped away our tears and made us live. We were being described as the living dead before Seyi Makinde became the governor. He has not only met our aspirations, he has made us happy. Oyo State pensioners are better than any state pensioners in the whole of the federation.”
Talking about the impact of Makinde’s administration, Comrade Abatan said, “Before Seyi Makinde came, we knew how Ibadan streets were, there was a great disorder. But now, there is order. Then, when you talk about infrastructure development, the roads are now better tarred. He has made the roads leading to the state capital more attractive. He is not concentrating road development in Ibadan alone, it is everywhere in the state; in Oyo, Ogbomoso, Iseyin, Saki, etc. Oyo State is having a better look.”
The union leader also lauded the governor for his policy on agriculture which, he said, has turned Fasola Agric Industrial Hub into a model.
He said, “Makinde has done well in agric. Look at Fasola; in those days Fasola used to be a rural settlement. But see what he has done now. He has turned it into an agric industrial hub. He is assisting farmers with fertilizers and other agricultural input. And he has also improved the health sector.”
Abatan continued, “If it were possible to have a third term, let Seyi go ahead and ride on. Some are even saying that he should be made a life governor in Oyo State because we have never had it so good. Since January 2025 when he increased our pension, life has not been the same for us.”
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The NUP scribe, who described Governor Makinde as a very compassionate leader, counseled him to look beyond the National Assembly for his next aspiration.
According to him, “We pensioners don’t want him in the Senate, he is too useful to go and be sleeping in the Senate or the House of Representatives. We want him at the presidency level. If his party can nominate him to vie for the presidency, they will see that he will move mountains. I personally will lead pensioners throughout the federation because pensioners throughout the federation are endangered. If they now see somebody who has done well for pensioners in his state and he is now coming to the federal level, all pensioners will rally round him.”
