OGHENETEJIRI NYERHOVWO/ GODWIN AYOBAMI RACHEL
Retired primary school teachers and local government workers in Delta State trooped out in their numbers in Asaba in Delta State to protest over unpaid accrued benefits of N48,369,331,624.00 as at December, 2019.
According to the protesters numbering over 1,000, N40,231,422,556.00 is for primary school retirees, while the balance of N8,137,909,068 is for retired local government workers.
Wearing in black clothes and bearing placards with various inscriptions, the protesting senior citizens marched through the streets of the state capital demanding the payment of their entitlements.
Some of inscriptions on the placards were, “Pay Us Our Gratuity From 2014 to date”, “Our Pension Mata, No Retreat, No Surrender”, “EFCC, Probe All PFA’s”, “Let Us Reap the Fruit Of Our 35 years Labour”, “Okowa, Retirees Deserve A Better Life, Do Something,” and “Gov. Okowa, Our Gratuity & Pension Is Our Right.”
Speaking on behalf of the retirees, Helen Egie disclosed that the retirees which numbered over 5,000 had suffered enough hardship and humiliation since retirement.
Egie said 35 teachers have died due to ill health and disease, lack of care and money to purchase basic medication.
She further disclosed that several meetings with government officials yielded no results hence the peaceful protest.
According to her, records from Bureau of Local Government Pension, unremited deductions from staff contribution amounted to N5.9 billion.
Egie said with the current monthly allocation of N300 million by the state government, it will take over eighteen years to offset the N40 billion backlog.
She accused government of wanting local government/primary school retirees to be without any means of livelihood for over 18 years after retirement.
Egie appealed for an increase in the monthly allocation from N300 million to N2 billion until the backlog is offset.
The protesters were at the Delta State House of Assembly but they were not able to gain entry to see any of the Principal Officers because they are on recess.
The aggrieved retirees later took their grievances to Government House where they insisted on having an audience with Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta but were barred security operatives.
They danced, drummed and sang solidarity songs to register their displeasure even as they refused to be pacified by Mr. Reginald Bayoko, Head of Service(HoS), Apostle Sylvanus Okorote, chairman, state chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Comr. Goodluck Ofobruku , chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Delta State.
They booed the NLC chairman after he said that he was unaware of the plight of retirees of the local government.
