Ogun State’s 20 LCDAs and former political office-holders have praised the state administration for paying them the ₦3.503 billion they were due in severance payments.
At Tuesday’s cheque presentation ceremony at the Oba’s Complex in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, recipients expressed gratitude for the support and said it showed the government’s dedication to good governance and the well-being of those in political office.
Council members, supervisors, special advisers, previous chairman and vice chairs, secretaries to local governments, and others who served from 2016 to 2024 will all be beneficiaries.
The government announced the payment’s total of ₦3,503,489,479.56 in a statement signed by Hon. Kayode Akinmade, Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Governor Dapo Abiodun.
According to Akinmade, 526 former political office-holders from the 2016–2019 term and 516 from the 2020–2024 term were included in the outstanding liabilities.
He explained that the deal was an example of the administration’s policy of paying off legitimate inherited debts.
Our government has taken the courageous decision to clean them completely because we are a responsible and people-centered leader. According to Akinmade, this follows the governor’s policy of paying off all valid debts.
He explained that the exercise was a result of checks and balances carried out by the Local Government Service Commission, the State Audit Department, and the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs.
According to Akinmade, confirmed recipients have already received payments in their bank accounts. Those who have not received alerts yet, possibly because of problems with their accounts, should contact the ministry with the necessary paperwork.
Representing the recipients, Hon. Okunade Adebayo and Hon. Abosede Balogun expressed gratitude to the government for meeting the requirement, stating that it demonstrated the acknowledgement of their efforts in grassroots development.
Additionally, they complimented the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs for the process, describing it as smooth, open, and organised.
The settlement was characterised by another beneficiary Hon. Emiola Ghazal as “unprecedented” in Ogun State. Ghazal was once the chairman of Ijebu Ode Local Government.
In Ogun State, this has never happened before. Even after all the hardships the previous administration inflicted on the governor, we still didn’t think the current administration could pay off the entitlements due by the previous one. The governor is someone who keeps his word,” Ghazal remarked.
This, he continued, was evidence that Governor Abiodun was “a leader with the milk of human kindness.”
Ghazal went on to say that the administration’s credibility had been bolstered by the event, and that it may have far-reaching political consequences for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the run-up to the 2027 election.
The recipients communicated their expectation that the current administration will continue policies that benefit workers and other stakeholders and their utmost commitment to receiving high-quality service from those in political office.