Delta State governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, is combat ready to have a showdown with retirees in the state who have served the state meticulously even as he has told retirees in the state that he would not be able to address their plights following the dwindling federal allocation to the state, revealing that the problem is age long.
Loading ...Governor Okowa said this while giving his remarks at this year’s May Day celebration which was held at the Cenotaph, in Asaba.
Okowa openly told the retirees that there was no money to pay them, noting that when he assumed office, he met over N37 billion unpaid arrears belonging to retirees.
According to him, the economic situation in the country has adversely affected the state, “it is impossible for the state to attend to the needs of retirees at the moment”.
Despite the 60 days ultimatum given to the Okowa-led government by the retirees or they would mobilize all state workers and labour unions to carry out industrial action against the state government, it seemed that the governor was battle ready to have a showdown with them.
It would be recall that retirees under the aegis of the Association of Contributory Retirees (ACR), stormed Asaba, the state capital, defying the heavy downpour to embark on what they described as ‘protest prayers’ for the non-payment of their benefits as about 70 retirees’ have died for austerity sake, poverty, hypertension occasioned by landlords, inability to pay their children’s school fees among other life difficulties.
