From Owerri, Imo State
Barely a week after Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state rolled out the drums to elaborately celebrate his 50th birthday, pensioners of the Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) yesterday (Wednesday) took to the streets in protest of the non-payment of a staggering 23 months pension arrears by the Imo state government.
The pensioners numbering over 200 had marched to the FSP Park along Wetheral road Owerri enroute the Imo Government House.
Marching with placards of various inscriptions, the protesters averred that the cost of the lavish birthday party by the governor could comfortably offset the entire 24 month pension arrears owed them, two times over.
Some of the placards read, “10 pensioners have died due to inability to access healthcare owing to our unpaid pensions”, “Okorocha rescue IBC pensioners, we are also your responsibility”, “Our dear governor, please walk your talk!”
In a letter to the Governor signed by the Chairman of the group, Chief D. Asunugwo and his Secretary, Chief H. Onuoha, the retirees in a tabulated summary of their pension arrears indicated that the last government owed them for only five months, indicating that Governor Okorocha has not paid them since 18 months he assumed office.
According to the letter, the monthly bill for IBC monthly pensions is about N5million on the average while the cumulative pension arrears owed the retirees amounted to about N109 million.
Expressing his frustration, one of the pensioners who claimed to have travelled all the way from Ideato North council area of the state for the protest and was not leaving Owerri until the governor addressed their plight said that he was convinced that the cost of the three-day lavish celebration of Okorocha’s birthday and 10th anniversary celebration of his private NGO, the Rochas Foundation; the multiple dinners and the cost of flying in a former president, the Zimbabwean prime minister, some northern emirs other leaders of note and political bigwigs, was by far in excess of N300million which is more than twice the cost of their outstanding pension arrears.
An impeccable source and senior management staff of the Corporation, who craved anonymity, told our correspondent that the condition of the pensioners would have been milder, if the governor had not withheld some funds designated for the corporation.
She explained that from the administration of former Governor Achike Udenwa, the 27 councils in the state each remitted through deductions made at source, the sum of N150,000 for publicity and this helps in the running of the state radio station, but regretted that on assumption of office, Okorocha allegedly hijacked the fund and has not remitted a kobo of such deductions to the state broadcast station.
She added, “Our fund in the hands of the governor is now close to N150 million and you can imagine how far this could have gone in addressing the myriads of financial difficulties facing the corporation including this pension challenge.”
Meanwhile, the protesting pensioners were politely intercepted at the FSP Park by the state commissioner of Police, Mr. Adisa Bolanta, who personally addressed the angry pensioners urging them to give him an opportunity to mediate in the matter as it was an untoward sight to behold elder statesman marching the streets in protest.
The pensioners however agreed to reconvene their demonstration in a week time if the governor fails to heed good counsel.
Ironically, Governor Okorocha had earlier engaged in a media blitz using the same Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) claiming to have settled over seven years arrears of pensions inherited from past administrations.
Efforts to reach the governor’s handlers for comment proved abortive, as the situation was made even worse by the fact that not a single government official found it needful to address the aged pensioners but ignored and abandoned them to the devices of the state police commissioner.
Evidently, frantic machinery has been put in place to hush and keep any report of the ugly episode out of public glare.
