Several pensioners took to the streets to protest 28 months unpaid pension arrears in Abia State on Wednesday. The protesting pensioners were said to have nearly disrupted the May 1 Workers Day celebration.
The pensioners were said to have emerged from their canopy at the venue of the 2019 May Day anniversary in Abia State to occupy the podium immediately the Head of Service, Onyii Wamah, who represented Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, mounted the podium to take salute from the workers.
The protesting pensioners were said to have stood adamantly in front of Wamah who had to come down toand suspended further activities momentarily. The presence of the protesting pensioners was said to have attracted sympathy from the participants at the even; some of the pensioners sat on bare floor of the venue.
They displayed placards with inscriptions: “Stop this messy killing and gross tyranny, pay pension, gratuity”; “Pension payment is now a taboo in Abia State,” among others.
It was said that the protesters vehemently declined vacating the space for about 15 minutes, which disrupted activities; match past by various sectors was disrupted. They were, however, later persuaded to return to their canopy.
State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners in Abia, Chukwuma Udensi, had remarked that the protest was intended to draw public attention to the plight of pensioners in Abia State.
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“It is said that to whom much is given, much is expected. We have invested so much in the present administration for the past four years, so we expect him to act fast.
“We are being owed 19 months now, added to the nine months owed us by the past administration, which now amounts to 28 months.
“We are calling on Abia government to pay pensioners of Abia State because most of us have died due to unpaid retirement benefits,” Udensi had protested.
The State Public Relations Officer of the Union of Pensioners in Abia, also protested that past administrations staggered the payments of retirement benefits, where some sub-treasurers were paid while others were abandoned.
“Then some pensioners were owed six months and others 10 months.
“In the present administration from November 2017 till date, no pensioner has received any payment.
“During a meeting between the state government and pensioners, the governor promised to pay three months in every two months in order to clear the backlog of pension and gratuities.
“We are yet to see the implementation of this resolve by the state government to alleviate our plight,” Ikpe narrated.
The State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Uchenna Obigwe, was said to have condemned the steadily increasing salary arrears and unpaid retirement benefits in Abia State. He advocated that the crisis requires that the state government and the financial managers needs to develop proactive measures to tackle the problem.
“This situation is worrisome, particularly when the pensioners are not getting their monthly pensions regularly.
“Congress still repeats her plea for the sum of N150 million for gratuities monthly,” Obigwe declared.
State Chairman of Trade Union Congress, Abia State, Sunny Onwuma, noted that delayed salary payment had made most civil servants fail in their family responsibilities. He pointed out that most Abia civil servants are afraid to retire, observing that those due for retirement either amended their service records or applied for extension “for fear of the unknown.”
Onwuma, therefore, told the Abia State government to urgently develop a workable solution to the crisis of unpaid salaries, pension arrears and gratuities.