…DEMAND THEIR ENTITLEMENTS FROM GOV. OBASEKI
By Okosun Dennis
Retired Civil Servants in Edo State on Wednesday protested at the Headquarters, Esan West Local Government Area, Ekpoma over their unpaid entitlements.
The protesting retirees had worked in various ministries but have not been paid their gratuity and pension in the last 19 years.
The over 1,000 affected retirees who are from the local government area besieged the council office, to express their angst over what they described as “The insensitivity of the State Government towards their plight and welfare” despite having served the state in different capacities for several decades.
The protest which was said to have been held simultaneously in all the 18 local government areas of the state, had hundreds of elderly men and women who have served the state meritoriously, wading placards with various inscriptions, and appealed to the Governor to pay them their entitlements.
The protest which was led in Ekpoma by the leader of the pensioners, Mr Uze, said “We the pensioners in Edo state have not been paid our gratuity and pension for 19 years. All we are saying is let Governor Godwin Obaseki pay us our money. Pensioners are dying of starvation.
“We have waited for several years without any response. So many of our colleagues have died in the process without a Kobo and others are still waiting. We have exhausted our patience hence we found it expedite to protest and register our disappointment and ill-treatment hoisted on us by this government. Gov. Obaseki should pay us our dues,” he reiterated.
Receiving the pensioners at the local government headquarters, on behalf of the Head of Service, who was unavoidably absent, was the Director of Administration and the Treasurer, Esan West Local Government and other officials.
While appealing to the pensioners said, “We feel your pains and what you people are going through. The truth is that at our level, we may not be able to do much but we would channel your complaints to the appropriate quarters. However, our expectation is that anyone who works, retire should be paid as at when due. We are sorry for what you are going through in these trying times.”
It was learnt that the former Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, paid to a certain level and stopped paying gratuity since 2011 until he left office. Since then, no retired civil servant in Edo State has been paid his/her gratuity to date. Those that were fortunate to have been paid their gratuity have not been receiving the harmonized pension adjustments.
However, it was revealed that since this government came to power, it has managed to pay pensions to those already on their nominal roll but refused to pay gratuity where the last administration left off 11 years ago.
Unfortunately, every year, it was gathered, more civil servants are retired thereby making the number of unpaid pensioners humongous.
Investigations further revealed that even those that counted themselves lucky to have been paid their pension and gratuity in the past, what they are paid is nothing to write home about as some are paid as low as N800, N2,000 or N4,000 monthly as a pension due to the non-implementation of harmonized pension. With the present economic reality in the country, these amounts cannot boast of buying a leg of goat in the market.
Some of the protesters expressed bitterness with the shoddy treatment they are receiving from the State Governor, whom they thought would consider their age and years of meritorious service to their state and pay their entitlements promptly.
“We would continue with the protest on a weekly basis until our demands are met,” Obomeirelu intoned.
He added, the Nigerian National Anthem unequivocally stated that: “The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.” But from the look of things, the above verse is about to be erased or obliterated in Edo State as the state government has consistently refused to pay us gratuity and harmonized pension to thousands of pensioners since 2003.
Findings revealed that as part of the arrangement to streamline payments and make it easier for the doting pensioners, the former administration after successfully documenting pensioner for payment, such retiree is issued a “yellow card” to be tendered for payment.
It was further gathered that the “yellow card” qualifies anyone unfettered access and payment when invited. However, about four years ago, the present government invited some of those already cleared to come with their cards with a view to paying them.
“Sadly, they collected the cards and refused to issue cheques to them accordingly. Since then, it has remained an unkept, unfulfilled promise,” one of the protesting pensioners narrated.
“It is our sweat that we have laboured for. They have collected our “yellow cards” and refused to issue cheques. We are overdue for payments,” another retiree said.
Asked if they are going to sustain the momentum until the government yields and pay them, Obomeirelu explained that they are going to make the protest a weekly event until Gov. Godwin Obaseki see the need to pay them.
“How can someone work for a state government for 35 years without gratuity and pension. How do they want such a person to survive,” he asked?
As the protest continues, weekly, it is hoped that the state government would see the urgent need to pay them their entitlements – gratuity and pension – promptly.
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/edo-state-pensioners-protest-over-19-years-unpaid-gratuity-pension-in-ekpoma/
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