Lagos Presents N1.7bn Retirement Bond Certificates

The Lagos State Government last Thursday presented retirement bond certificates worth N1.7 billion to 350 retirees who had served the state meritoriously.

Presenting the certificates, the state governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, disclosed that a total of 1471 bond certificates worth N7.5 billion have so far been redeemed by retirees since the commencement of the scheme in Oct. 2010.

Fashola, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, also said that N29.5 billion was credited into the Retirement Savings Accounts of state government employees, under the Contributory Pension Scheme, since 2007.

“Since the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme, the state government has chosen yet again, to be the pack leader in pioneering the implementation of a pension policy that will assure the future of public servants.

“While there will always be room for improvement of process, I am proud to assert that issues of malpractice are fading into a distant memory in our state pension administration,” Fashola said.

The governor said that the main objective for subscribing to the contributory pension scheme was to ensure that retirement benefits were paid as and when due, to ensure the comfort of retirees.

“At the commencement of the scheme, we promised every worker that this administration would ensure adequate funding of the past service liabilities, in strict compliance with the provisions of the Lagos State Pension Reform Law No. 3 of 19 March, 2007,” Fashola said.

In his welcome address, the Director-General of Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Mr Rotimi Hussain, said that the commission would continue to work assiduously to ensure that retirees enjoyed lives of financial independence.

Hussain, however, enjoined the retirees to invest their money in lucrative ventures and avoid spending on frivolities, bearing in mind the economic situation in the country.