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Friday, March 29, 2024

Retirees Defies Heavy Downpour To Protest Delayed Pension Benefits In Delta

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…As Retirees’ Cries Out Over Death Of 70 Members

Barely a week after some STEPrenures (youths), trained in Computer Hard Wares and Repairs jeered Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, of Delta State at Cenotaph, Asaba, the venue of one of the state government’s empowerment over incomplete starter-packs, the Okowa-led government may have suffered yet another setback as 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.

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The members who turnout in large number, well over 500 matched several kilometres in the rains from the Labour House near Okpanam, a suburb of Asaba to the Delta State House of Assembly (DTHA) and later to Government House to register their grievances against the Okowa’s government for paying deaf ears to their plights, “we have been neglected for too long”, they wept.

The retirees has given the state government to 30th of June 2016, saying, “if the State government refuses to reach an agreement with NLC, joint Negotiation Council and ACR on the implementation of State Contributory Pension scheme, then ACR would mobilize all state workers and labour union to carry out industrial action against the state government”.

“Release the 10% of Delta State Government Pension Contributions valued at N18 billion as at 28th November, 2014 as stated by former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to State Pension Bureau to settle gratuities, pensions and harmonization arrears to paid Contributory Retirees”, they said.

Mr. Isaiah Agbaka, Chairman, ACR Liaison Rally Committee, said that government has refused to pay their retirement benefits since 2012.

He lamented that the retirees who served the state government with honesty and hard work were been denied their retirement benefits after many years of retirement.

“Not many of us were able to build a house, train our children or build alternative sources of income because of our honesty, yet we are being denied our entitlement at retirement.

“We are all aware of the signs of the time, we are suffering and no fewer than 70 members have died since 2012 from hypertension and other degrees of hardship, yet their pension are still not been paid,” he said.

He said that the retirees’ plight had become compounded and confusing particularly when they had no body or a defined system to channel their complaints.

Also speaking, Mrs Maria Obuse, who retired in 2012, said that she had not been paid, adding that the delay was giving her serious concern due to the present economic challenge, noting that her benefits would be nothing to cheer about when finally paid unless government harmonies it in line with that of local government retirees in the state.

“What is our crime for working for the state government and retiring after 35 years, at retirement the local government workers get more money than those of us in the state.

“Things are really bad for us the retirees, many have lost hope, died, cannot pay house rents nor pay their children school fees,” she cried out.

On his part, Mr Gabriel Aduwa, Chairman, ACR Rally Committee, said that the rally became necessary to get government attention to the sufferings of the retirees and make them source fund to pay the retirees.

According to him, the state government is owing about N18 billion debt under the contributory pension scheme as at 2014 and if liquidated can address most of the pension arrears.

“The state government has been owing us our entitlement for four years now, so we hold this rally to ask them to pay us because we contributed the money and it is our right to get retirement benefits.

“The hiccup is that the state government failed to contribute its own part of the money and since 2012 more workers are retiring and queuing up without being paid their retirement benefits.

“Government recently released N2 billion for payment of retirees’ benefits but it could only pay 200 retirees and this is very insignificant”.

The Chief of Staff Government House, Mr Tam Brisibe, who address the retirees thanked them for the peaceful nature they had gone about the protest.

He assured that their compliant would be communicated to the governor, whom he said was not in the state as at the time of the protest.

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