Daily post reports that the pensioners revealed that apart from Anambra, other governors owed gratuity and that backlog of pensions had risen to close to 72 months.
They spoke in Enugu through their national vice president, south-east zone, Dr Emeka Onwumere and zonal chairman of the south-east, Comrade C. N. Udensi.
They claimed that Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo and his Abia counterpart, Okezie Ikpeazu have not shown any willingness to make the situation better even though other governors were showing readiness to do something. They alleged that Imo and Abia states had not paid gratuities since 1998 and 1999 respectively and that while the constitution stipulated that workers’ salaries and pensions be treated on first charge of the consolidated revenue, the federal and state governments in the country had consistently violated that section of the constitution.
“Our situation has become so bad that these people don’t even consider us as breathing human beings. Okorocha before his second term bid pampered us so much apparently to enlist our support to the extent that before the election, we were just being owed two months pension arrears.
“But, immediately after his election, he has totally avoided us. He used us to win his election and after the election, he discarded us. We were clearly deceived.
“In the case of Abia state, its quite lamentable. Abia has a monthly wage bill of not more than N350 million and yet the governor has clearly treated us with levity and wants us to maybe die as some of our members have already died as a result of sufferings, hardship and poverty.
“Today, we couldn’t even afford to put on a good cloth. What we are wearing here are clothes we wore during burial ceremonies in our respective communities. That’s how bad the situation has become.”
They urged the Nigeria Labour Congress to without further delay order a nationwide industrial action in sympathy with the pensioners as their silence was not doing them any good.
“They should know that the fact that you are active today is not an indication that you will be strong and active tomorrow.
“We were like them before we got to this point. Those active ones today will become pensioners by tomorrow.”
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