From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Some members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Abia State chapter have sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to Governor Alex Otti, urging him to pay their gratuity and pension arrears balance.
Abia Government had before now said it has cleared all the pension arrears of retired civil servants owed by the previous administrations in the state.
The pensioners under the aegis of Abia Pensioners’ Forum (APF), led by Okey Kanu had during a press conference in Umuahia, on Wednesday, while commending Governor Otti for paying the 10 months arrears of pension that the current administration incurred in the last one year, however debunked the government’s claim that it has paid pensioners all the pensions and gratuities owed to retired workers by the previous administrations in the state.
“Contrary to the position of the state government that they have paid pensioners their pensions and gratuity, the government only paid them a fraction of their pension while their gratuities in the last 20 years have not been paid till date.
The APF coordinator cautioned the Otti led government; which he said they all fought for, against leaving a vacuum for the opposition to cash in to taunt it.
“On assumption of office, His Excellency started paying our pension arrears and we are pleading with him to pay us the balance of our pension arrears and gratuity.
“We are begging the governor to please pay our retirement benefits by installments since if the amount involved is much that he can’t pay at once, instead of cancelling them.
“He should pay the ones he could and leave these debts for successive administration(s) because if these retirement benefits were cancelled, traded in or forfeited by His Excellency’s predecessors-in-office, there wouldn’t have remained any debt to inherit by this administration.
“But the previous administrations understood the import of taking such weighty and devastating step; hence kept them alive for a successive administration.
“We implore His Excellency to listen to the cry of pensioners in the state by revisiting and rescinding the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and pay us our legitimate retirement benefits.”
The Pensioners said it was right before God and man that a labourer deserves his wage, adding that the Governor would have written his name in gold should he jettison the MOA which they claimed were reached without their consent, and pay them in full.
