By: Felix Ikpotor
Pensioners in Rivers State have again lamented the refusal of the state government to pay them their several years of pension arrears, gratuities and other benefits.
They also said the government owes them over one hundred and nineteen billion naira as benefits.
Coordinator of Rivers State Civil Service Pensioners, Lucky Ati stated this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt.
He said the government is owing over seven thousand retirees as persons who retired since 2016 till date were yet to be paid their pensions and appealed to the governor, Nyesom Wike to heed their cry and pay them.
Ati said over one hundred and fifty of the retirees have died without their benefits being paid while others are bedridden with no money for medical attention.
He said: “As at April 2021 when the report of the tripartite committee of organised labour was submitted, Rivers State Government was owing pensioners over one hundred and nineteen billion naira”
“Nobody has been paid gratuity in this state for the past seven years and you can imagine what we are going through at our age. There are so many terminal disease that our members are suffering from that needs constant medication but they can’t because we don’t have money and so many of us have died. I have lost count of the numbers. As at December 2021, we have lost over 150 pensioners. So many are in their homes bedridden, so many have been thrown out of their houses and children out of school”.
He appealed to the government to pay their entitlements and also implement promotion for those left in the civil service.
“So we are appealing that he should pay us our gratuities, pay us our pension arrears and pay us for all that have died, their death benefits,” he said.
