Activities at the Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI), Ikere-Ekiti, were disrupted on Monday as pensioners of the institution protested over unpaid pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits.
The retirees, under the BOUESTI Pensioners Association, shut down activities at the university, demanding urgent action to settle their outstanding entitlements.
Carrying placards with various inscriptions, the pensioners said prolonged delays in payment had subjected them to severe hardship.
Their demands included the immediate payment of the August 2026 pension and the outstanding 50 per cent of the July 2026 pension.
They also demanded payment of outstanding gratuities, as well as arrears linked to the new minimum wage, the 20 to 28 per cent pension increase and the 2019 consequential adjustment.
Speaking with journalists, the association’s Chairman, Dr Kola Ajaja, said members were struggling because the August pension had not been paid, while only half of the July pension had been received.
Ajaja said the situation had caused financial hardship, ill-health and, in some cases, untimely deaths, particularly among retirees who depend on their pensions for medication and basic needs.
The association also alleged that the university management owed retirees substantial amounts in gratuities and other pension-related arrears.
Responding to the protest, the Vice Chancellor of BOUESTI, Professor Andrew Babatunde Omojola, appealed for calm.
Omojola said he would engage the Ekiti State Government to seek an increase in subvention to help clear the outstanding arrears.
The pensioners, however, are demanding urgent action to end the prolonged delay in the payment of their benefits.
