Some pensioners in Anambra State have protested the nonpayment of their gratuities by the state government for four years.
They are demanding that the State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, pay the backlog of their gratuities, which have accrued since 2019.
The angry retirees argue that the previous administration of the state owed them the gratuities. Since government is a continuum, they believe that Governor Soludo should clear such arrears.
One of them, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Pay us now that we are alive. Is it true that when we die, others will collect what we worked for? Our gratuities are our rights.
Another retiree, who identified herself as Chikodi Ezeogu, acknowledged that Governor Soludo has been paying pensions and gratuities consistently since he assumed office on March 17, 2021, and he is not owing anybody in that respect within that period.
She stated, “In fact, he pays pensioners before even the regular workers. Since Soludo became governor, any worker who retires receives their gratuity within a month or two.
The same applies to pensions. Every retiree in the state receives their pension on the 25th of every month, or earlier in some months.
“Our Governor is doing well in that regard, and we will continue to pray for more of God’s grace and blessings for him and his family.
The gratuities we are talking about were owed by former Governor Willie Obiano. He disrupted the system of regular payment of such benefits that he inherited from former Governor Peter Obi.
Obi did not owe anybody any money when he was governor or by the time he left. We don’t know what Obiano did with our money; he was wasteful during his reign.
“So, the gratuities we are talking about are those owed by the state from 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, before Governor Soludo assumed office.
“But our protest is that since government is a continuum, Soludo should clear that part of the state’s debt first before anything else.
It’s unfair for someone who retired in 2021, 2022, or 2023 to be paid their gratuity before someone who retired in 2018 or 2019. That’s our protest. Equity ranks according to the time of creation,” Ezeogu said.
Efforts to get the state chairman of pensioners, Chief Anthony Ugozor, to speak on this matter failed as his telephone line continued to indicate “not available.”
When Governor Soludo assumed office on March 17, 2021, he mentioned that he met about N300 to N400 million in the state treasury but inherited about N109 billion in debt. This debt included arrears on pensions and gratuities.
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