The aged retired staff of Odua Printing Ltd, a subsidiary of Odua Investment Ltd has decried non-payment of pension and therefore appealing to the company to save them from dying in suffering.
The retirees made the plea yesterday to Journalists in Ibadan, Oyo state capital appealing to them to please help them to tell members of the public their travail of non-payment of pension after many years of retirement.
According to the spokesman for the pensioners, Mr. Simeon Taiwo, the rertirees were 17, five have died while some of them who are still living are seriously incapacitated due to lack of money suffered from non-payment of pension.
Mr. Taiwo said after they were retired in early 90s, they went to the management of Odua Investment Ltd and they were able to pay them only N1.8million as a entitlement to settle them for life. He added that the highest receiver from the money got about N100.000 which is meagre after spending all their lives with the company.
He said this prompted them to hire a lawyer, Barr. Taiye Oyerinde who went with them to the company to beg for more in which they had meeting with the Resource Manager, Mr. Abimbola Ilori on February 18, 2014.
He continued, “what we heard from him gave us hope that the company will do something urgent about the matter but to our astonishment, the man has been avoiding us by not making himself available nor picking our calls”.
“This is the reason we felt after all our strive to get their attention that Mass Media should be our last resort, the reason we call journalists to please come to our aid so that we will all not die in suffering”, he appealed.
Meanwhile, the lawyer, Chief Taiye Ojerinde appeals to the management of Odua Investment Company to please come to the aid of the retirees so that they will not be impoverished the more in their old age.
“The people need money in their old age and are dying in suffering, we want journalists to avenge them to tell people about their travail because money given to them was too meagre to survive them for live. The retirees are ready to collectively sign agreement that they will not request for more in the future after they have collected this one”, he said.
Reacting, the former Human Resources Manager, Mr. Abimbola Ilori said he is now retired and as a result can not say anything on the matter.
Meanwhile, his successor, Dr. Alonge was not available when journalists pay her visit in Cocoa House in Ibadan but speaking on her behalf was a woman who spoke under condition anonymity.
According to her, Odua Investment Company is not indebted to the retirees adding that the said meagre N1.8million paid to them was out of pity because the company, Odua Printing Ltd where they served has folded up.
She stated that she can’t say if the company will add to the money because presently it is going through transition adding that the fear of the management is that retirees can still come for more in the future.
