FGN SPW: Beneficiaries Lament Poor Service From Heritage Bank In Osun

By Yusuf Oketola

Beneficiaries of the Federal Government Special Public Works in the State of Osun have expressed their displeasure over the poor service and hardship they face in the collection of their allowances from Heritage Bank in Osogbo, capital of the state.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with Thirdeyeonline on Tuesday and Wednesday said they had been facing difficulties in accessing their funds from the bank since the beginning of the disbursement by the Federal Government. 

It was gathered that Orolu, Irepodun and Ilesa East are among local governments from which beneficiaries of the programme are attached to the bank for the collection of their allowances. 

Speaking with us, a beneficiary from Orolu Local Government, Mr. Afeez Olatunde, said he had been to the bank on three different occasions and was only able to collect the first tranche of the three allowances. 

Olatunde lamented that the bank also allegedly deducted a sum of N3,000 from his allowances in the guise that an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card will be made available to him.

He said: “This is the third time I will be coming to this bank. People are coming from different towns in the state everyday and would still not be able to access their money. Nursing mothers, aged women and others are coming to pass the night in front of the bank because of N57, 000 and this is not happening in other banks.

“Some of these banks transferred the allowances directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries without deducting a penny. Why is it not so here?” 

A beneficiary from Ilesa East Local Government, Mrs. Wasilat Adebari, said she left Ilesa around 3:00am for Osogbo, but was attended to around 3:30pm. 

Thirdeyeonline visited the bank at 9:30pm on Tuesday and found some of the beneficiaries logging around the Heritage Bank to pass the night, in wait for opening of bank operations the following morning, with a view to accessing their funds.

However, findings by this medium revealed that some beneficiaries who are attached to Heritage Bank have been able to access the fund without any stress in other states. 

Mr. Nurudeen Olatunji, from Orolu Local Government of the State of Osun, told the medium that he was able to access his allowances without wasting much time at a branch of the Heritage Bank in Ekiti State, saying that his wife also cashed her allowances at one of the banks in Kwara State without stress.

It will be recalled that sometimes in October, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a Pilot Special Public Works Programme in the Rural Areas. The programme was domiciled in the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for implementation.