Pensioners in Abia State have cried out over the delay by the state government in clearing the pension and gratuity owed them, lamenting that the development has left them languishing in hardship.
A pressure group under the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Abia State Council, which addressed journalists in Umuahia, the state capital, on the said government’s delay in clearing their retirement benefits noted that the development was becoming a blemish on government’s goodwill.
In 2024, the government and Abia NUP leadership reached a Memorandum of Agreement which purported that the pensioners have agreed that they will forfeit their gratuity if they will be paid 100 per cent of their pension every month.
Pensioners rejected the MoA on the grounds that gratuity was a personal, constitutional right and nobody or group had the right to negotiate it away. The Abia Pensioners Forum maintained that the MoA was dead on arrival.
Following the controversy it generated, Governor Alex Otti, on March 23, 2024, promised to revisit the matter. But the leader of Abia Pensioners Forum, Barr. Okey Kanu, who read from a prepared text, said they had called the press conference “because of the failed promise of our Governor to revisit the purported waiver or forfeiture of our arrears of pensions and gratuity and to inform the public of our continued predicament.”
The group, lamented that the continued delay and deprivation of pensioners in the implementation of the Committee’s Report and fulfillment of the governor’s promise have continued to cause unnecessary anguish to pensioners in the state; but warned government against shortchanging them whenever they want to clear the said arrears.
The non-payment of arrears, the group maintained, has left their members in anguish.
“Retirees are not just statistics or names on a payroll. We are fathers, mothers, community leaders and former public servants who gave the best years of our lives to the development and service of Abia State.
“Today, many of us live in abject poverty, unable to afford basic medication, feed properly, own houses or pay rent all because the state government has failed, refused or neglected to honour its obligations to us. The delay in these payments is not just a financial issue, it is a humanitarian deceit and failure,” the group said.
They further revealed that each passing month plunges more pensioners into worsening health, depression and, in some cases, death, without them getting the reward of their 35 years of service or 60 years of age of service, describing their experience as “terribly sad, inhuman and injustice” to allow this to continue.”
They reiterated that paying of pension and gratuity to any pensioner “is not a favour” but “a constitutional duty and a moral obligation of government.”
They however, warned the government against shortchanging their members in implementing the Committee’s report, saying that rumours were flying around that the Committee may have recommended that a percentage of what they are owed be paid to them.
“Pensioners will not accept being shortchanged under any guise. Also, we shall not accept any percentage payment of what we are owed as was done before,” the group insisted.
They pleaded with Governor Otti to prioritise clearing the pension and gratuity arrears, suggesting that could be paid by instalment.
Boniface Okoro
About the Author
