Pensioners seeks inclusion in Ogun health insurance

Ogun State pensioners have appealed to the state governor, Governor Dapo Abiodun to provide health relief for them. This appeal was made on Saturday by Ogun State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Waidi Oloyede, who said the health relief would ease the burden of many of them who were battling with one ailment or the other due to old age and other factors.

According to the pensioners, health relief should be provided under the National Health Insurance, so that retirees who subscribe to the scheme would enjoy a 50 per cent discount.

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Oloyede who spoke at the Pensioners’ Day celebration held at Abeokuta said, “The paltry sums are grossly inappropriate to purchase drugs for various health challenges nor meet the demands of the present-day economic realities. We would be happy if your excellency could help with the implementation of this consequential adjustment to ease the pains of the economically battered senior citizens.

“We also wish to bring to your notice that most, if not all the senior citizens battle one health challenge or the other. It is therefore pertinent to say that we, the aged, the senior citizens mostly need such health relief as being provided by the National Health Insurance Scheme. We passionately plead that the pensioners be rightly captured on the National Health Insurance Scheme and a further rebate or discount of 50 per cent benefit should accrue to would-be subscribers as such has been allowed the mainstream personnel, the active workforce.” Oloyede said.

Oloyede, however, applauded Abiodun for tackling for addressing the backlog of unpaid pensions with the quarterly release of N500m which he said was later increased to N2bn and was capped up with the recent release of N5.3bn.

PUNCH/DIVINE