The Ogun State Government has paid a total of ₦3.503bn in outstanding severance allowances owed former political office-holders across the state’s 20 local government councils and Local Council Development Areas.
The beneficiaries, who served between 2016 and 2024, include former chairmen, vice-chairmen, secretaries to local governments, supervisors, special advisers and councillors.
The payment was disclosed on Tuesday during the presentation of cheques to some of the beneficiaries at the Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the governor, Kayode Akinmade, the government said the settlement covered 526 former political office-holders from the 2016–2019 tenure and 516 from the 2020–2024 tenure.
Akinmade said the payment was part of the administration’s policy of ensuring that legitimate inherited liabilities were settled.
“As a responsible and people-centred government, we have taken the bold step to clear them in full. This is in line with the Governor’s policy of not leaving any legitimate liability unpaid,” he said.
He explained that the exercise followed a verification and reconciliation process involving the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the State Audit Department and the Local Government Service Commission.
According to him, verified beneficiaries have been paid through their bank accounts, while those who have yet to receive alerts due to account-related issues have been advised to approach the ministry with the relevant documents.
The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, also confirmed the development in a telephone call with our correspondent on Tuesday.
He said, “Yes, it has been paid.”