Pensioners Back Oni, Says He Remains the Best for Ekiti
Chief Segun Oni, a former governor of Ekiti State
Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
Some members of the Ekiti State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) have declared support for former state Governor, Segun Oni, and the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the June 18 poll.
The pensioners had last month threatened to stage a protest from Ado-Ekiti to Oni’s house in Ifaki Ekiti if the former governor should refuse to contest on another political party platform aside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election.
The pensioners led by Pa Suyi Ajayi and Chief Ayodele Omoyajowo, who disclosed this during a visit to a pro-Oni group, Ekiti Build Back Better, yesterday in Ado Ekiti, said the PDP would pay dearly for its refusal to consider Oni, who they had hoped would pay all their backlog of unpaid pensions if emerged victorious.
According to the statement issued by the spokesman of the group, Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, the pensioners said when Oni was the governor of the state between 2007 and 2010, he was able to pay all their entitlements dated to the old Ondo State era.
Adelusi added that the pensioners said throughout Oni’s tenure, pensioners monthly allowances were paid regularly.
He said: “We did not suffer, but the succeeding administrations have impoverished the pensioners because they didn’t care if we were killed by hunger or not.”
Adelusi revealed that the pensioners said they had planned to trek to Ifaki on February 7 to protest against Oni, but the former governor, who got the wind of the plan, dumped the PDP on February 5, and announced to Ekiti people that he would contest on a new party ticket to be announced soon.
According to him, “The pensioners said they sent a message to Oni that they would trek from Ado-Ekiti to his house in Ifaki-Ekiti and that if any of them should drop dead on the way, the former governor should prepare to bear cost of the burial.”
Chief Omoyajowo also said: “It is true that we had planned to trek to Ifaki to ask Segun Oni to contest on another party’s platform since the PDP rigged him out.
“We, pensioners, are not happy at all, because it was Oni we wanted to win the ticket. We don’t mind our ages; we don’t mind if we die on the road. At least, Oni would hear that some pensioners died on the road because of the interest they have in him.”
