We regret purchasing Alia’s nomination forms, Benue pensioners protest arrears

Pensioners under the auspices of the Concerned Pensioners Association, Benue State chapter, on Wednesday defied a heavy downpour to protest the non-payment of outstanding gratuities stretching back to the year 2000.

The Concerned Pensioners Association, Benue State, is a splinter group of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners registered in 2022.

The pensioners, who marched in the rain along Naka Road, carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “Your Excellency, you have buried pensioners for paying gratuities during your time, June 2023 to date,” and “Gov. Alia pay us 38–62 months pension arrears, 25 years gratuities, harmonisation.”

Another read, “Your Excellency, pensioners are dying, pay our arrears and entitlements.”

Addressing journalists during the protest, Chairman of the association, Akosu Orban, said the protest was a result of the failure of the state governor, Hyacinth Alia, to fulfil pledges made to members in 2022.

While promising to occupy the Government House in the next few days, Orban listed their demands to include: “non-payment of outstanding pension arrears of between 38 and 62 months for state and local government respectively.

“Non-harmonisation of pension rates as stipulated in section 210 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended, where pensioners are paid N2,000 only as monthly pension against the approved N40,000 by the federal government.

“The connivance of the state government with the Nigeria Union of Pensioners to perpetuate unlawful activities against pensioners.”

When asked why pensioners collaborated with the Motorcycle Association in the state to purchase the governor’s nomination and expression of interest re-election forms despite their conditions, Orban said they did so to make the governor address their demands.

“Yes, it’s from our contributions that the union got the money to join hands with the motorcycle association to purchase the governor’s return nomination and expression of interest forms with the hope that he will redeem the pledges he made to us in the build-up to his election in 2023.

“But today, we regretted that step we took to purchase the governor’s nomination and expression of interest forms.”

He added, “Up till today, some pensioners who retired long ago are being paid N2,000 as their monthly pension,” adding that “because of hardship occasioned by non-payment of our pension and gratuity, pensioners have lost their wives to okada boys (commercial motorcyclists) because we are no longer productive enough to cater for them.” The protesters. Credit: John Charles

The pensioners called on President Bola Tinubu and the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, to prevail on the governor to come to their aid.

Meanwhile, the state government said the inherited unpaid pensions and gratuities stood at about N300 billion, which it described as the highest in the country.

The Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Michael Oglegba, who spoke to our correspondent in a telephone interview on Wednesday, however, said the government was doing its best to pay.

He said, “What we inherited from both local government and state is over N300 billion; that is the highest in this country. That is what we inherited, but we are doing our very best to pay what we can.

“So they have the right to demonstrate, but the government in its wisdom is doing the best. We are paying backlog.”

The commissioner added that since assuming office in 2023, the Alia administration has been paying 100 per cent gratuity to all those who left service from 2023 to date.

Asked about gratuities of those who left service before 2023, the commissioner said: “We are paying as much as we can. We are paying the backlog, but the monies are not there to pay everything together.”