Three Pensioners Collapse During Staff Audit Exercise in Osun

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

No fewer than three members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) Osun State Chapter, collapsed yesterday during the ongoing staff audit exercise of the state workforce.

The incident, it was gathered, threw members of the union into confusion as the healthy among them were running helter skater to revive the collapsed victims.

But it took the intervention of the medics of the State Ambulance Service to revive and stablise the victims.

Retirees, numbering about 2,000 old men and women who are visibly aged, frail and in some cases sick, were at  the premises of the Center for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, which is the venue of the ongoing screening exercise.

A number of them who could not withstand long period of standing were seen lying down, sleeping or sitting on the bare floor to avoid any untoward eventuality.

THISDAY’s correspondent who was at the venue of the screening exercise reported that many of the pensioners were visibly angry for what they described as inhuman treatment by the handlers of the exercise.

However, one Mr. Samuel Aduroroja, decried the arrangement and the eventual treatments of his colleagues who came for the exercise from across the state.

Though, Aduroroja agreed that the exercise was desirable, he expressed the opinion that the process would have been made easier if it were to be done on local government or zonal basis.

As at press time, the exercise was yet to commence as the consultant in charge, Ms. Saadat Bakri-Ottun, was yet to arrive the venue, thereby prolonging the wait.

The staff audit had been suspended for weeks by the Osun State House of Assembly over inhuman treatment meted to the civil servants by the consultant, but the suspension was lifted after she promised to correct her mistakes.

It would be recalled that pensioners have called on the state government to decentralise the staff audit of the state workforce.

The pensioners under the aegis the NUP, Osun State Chapter, said that they were in the total support of the staff audit but government should put the aged and helpless retirees into consideration by decentralising it.

The Chairman, NUP, Osun State, Mr. Ganiyu Salawu, made the appeal while speaking at the 2023 Elders Day Anniversary, held in Osogbo, Osun State’s capital last Thursday.

According to him “Osun pensioners are in support of the audit verification exercise by this government, it is the right way to go. But Sir, permit me to plead on behalf of our members especially the vulnerable ones, the bed ridden ones, the aged and the helpless retirees who formed the core membership of this union.

“NUP Osun State has nothing to hide. We had submitted our statistics and relevant data to the supervising ministry local government by local government.”