Hundreds of pensioners in Benin, the Edo State capital, on Monday protested the non-payment of their pension arrears.
The arrears range between 10 and 42 months.
The pensioners, armed with placards of
various inscriptions, took their protests to the Secretariat of the
Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin.
A spokesman of the pensioners, Gabriel
Osemwenkhai, told newsmen that the pensioners in the state had been
experiencing hard times over the non-payment of their pension and
gratuity by the government.
He said that some pensioners had died as a result of hardship.
Osemwenkhai said pensioners involved comprised public servants who retired in 2011 and were owed by the state government.
The spokesman alleged that the state
government refused to commence payment of the pension with effect from
the date of retirement as stipulated in the Civil Service Pension Law.
He said that the Edo government’s refusal to adhere to pension laws had led to a backlog of arrears owed to its pensioners.
Osemwenkhai said that their problem was further compounded by the dissolution of the State Pension Board.
“At the moment, public servants retiring
after the dissolution of the Pension Board are again stranded due to
government’s delay in processing their retirement papers; more than six
months after their names have been removed from the payroll.
“Rather than creating avenue for
retirees to process their pension papers, government has left this
category of senior citizens in limbo,“ he said.
The Chairman, NUJ, Edo Council, Mr Roland Osakue, said the union shared the pains and challenges of pensioners.
He appealed to the pensioners to remain
peaceful in their protest, promising that members of the NUJ would use
their various media outfits to let the authority know their plight.
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