Imo State Branch of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, has given the state government 14 days ultimatum to pay pension arrears owed members of the union in the state or face the wrath of the senior citizens.
The state NUP Chairman, Chief Gideon Ezeji, who made the feelings of the union known during a media briefing, yesterday, in Owerri, also rejected the 36 months instalmental payment of five months pension proposed by the state government. “Should Imo Government fail to pay arrears of pension owed pensioners by July 27, the State Council of NUP would be summoned for their mandate to take further action,” Ezeji said.
He appealed to Governor Rochas Okorocha to use part of the bailout it recently got from the Federal Government to settle the backlog of pension arrears owed members, noting that pension must be treated as first charge as stated in the constitution.
According to Ezeji: “Primary school teachers, who retired from 1991 upwards are as at the end of June, 2015, owed 18 months and the retired local government pensioners six months.” He recalled with grief that the payment of 73 months of harmonization, 180 per cent and 142 per cent arrears approved by former Heads of State, Abdulsalam Abubakar and Olusegun Obasanjo respectively and benefits of Alvan Ikoku College of Education retirees were still outstanding.
While recalling that Imo NUP recently stated through its State Secretary, Mr. Livinus Asiegbu, that pensioners in the state were owed more than N17 billion by the state government, Ezeji also frowned at what he tagged “the lopsided agreement which the state government claimed it entered with Imo labour unions concerning pensioners without NUP officials in attendance.”
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