Edo pensioners defy rain to protest non-payment of gratuities, pension arrears

The spokesman alleged that the state government had refused to commence the payment of the pension with effect from the date of retirement as stipulated in the Civil Service Pension Law




Hundreds of pensioners on Monday defied the heavy rain and took to the streets of Benin, the Edo State capital, to protest non-payment of arrears of pension ranging from 10 months to 42 months.
The pensioners, armed with placards of various inscriptions, took their protests to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Benin.
A spokesman of the pensioners, Gabriel Osemwenkhai, told newsmen that the pensioners in the state had been experiencing hard times over the non-payment of their pension and gratuity by the government.
Osemwenkhai said some pensioners had died as a result of hardship.
Osemwenkhai said pensioners involved comprised public servants, who retired in 2011 and owed by the state government.
The spokesman alleged that the state government had refused to commence the payment of the pension with effect from the date of retirement as stipulated in the Civil Service Pension Law.
He said the government’s refusal to adhere to pension laws had led to a backlog of arrears owed to pensioners in Edo State.
Osemwenkhai said their problem was further compounded by the dissolution of the State Pension Board.
He said: “At the moment, public servants retiring after the dissolution of the Pension Board are again stranded due to government’s delay in processing their retirement papers, more than six months after their names have been removed from the payroll.
“Rather than creating avenue for retirees to process their pension papers, government has left this category of senior citizens in limbo.”
The Chairman of the NUJ, Edo State Council, Roland Osakue, said the union shared the pains and challenges of pensioners.
Osakue appealed to the pensioners to remain peaceful in their protest, promising that members of the NUJ would use their various media outfits to let the authority know their plight.