The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) in Ekiti State has threatened to approach the court to compel the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to pay their outstanding benefits before the expiration of his tenure in October.
The NUP chairman, Joel Akinola, while speaking with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Monday explained that as the outgoing government announced plans for payment of entitlement of all sacked political aides, the backlog of emoluments of the pensioners should be prioritised in good time.
He added that it sounds incredible that the government was owing N37.5 billion gratuity arrears of retirees, saying the N100 million being released monthly to defray the backlog should be jacked up to N500 million to accommodate their needs.
Akinola revealed that an aggregate of 587 pensioners are either dead or bedridden in Ekiti due to infirmity suffered as a result of the incapacity to get the required treatments for their ailments.
The chairman who raised concern over-enthusiasm displayed by the government to pay the severance packages of Fayemi’s sacked aides urged the governor to pay their benefits alongside in the spirit of equity, justice and fair play.
Akinola said the union had put its Lawyers on notice over the alleged shabby treatment being meted out to them and that they may resort to litigation if their issues are not resolved expeditiously.
According to him, “Can we continue with this hopelessness? No. Some political appointees served for just two or three years and they are about to get their severance allowances. What is our sin?
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“We are consulting with our lawyers and they are waiting for us to mandate them to start the process for enforcement of our fundamental rights for prompt payment of all our entitlements in court. We know people will say the government don’t obey court orders due to the impunity we have now but we will do it for prosperity.
“Payment of gratuity is not a charity or as if we are begging for empowerment, it is a matter of right. We have cried on radio and addressed several press conferences and the government never bothered. Not paying the little we earn is like sentencing us to death.
“We have written to Biodun Oyebanji to congratulate him on his victory and we are patiently waiting for him to be sworn in so that we can pay him a visit and tell him how serious the undertaking he signed with us during the campaign.
“In view of the huge gratuity debt owed by the state government, the union is suggesting that the state government should declare a state of emergency on payment of terminal benefits of pensioner.”
Akinola also agitated for upward review of monthly pensions payable to members in accordance with Section 210 (3) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, which stipulated that pensions shall be reviewed every five years.
“We are appealing to the government to implement all the past adjustments of 33 per cent, 16 per cent, 15 per cent and the recent consequential adjustment resulting from the April 2019 Minimum Wage Act. It is embarrassing to say that we have some of our members being paid a monthly pension as low as N4,000,” he said.
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Ekiti pensioners threaten to sue Fayemi over unpaid benefits
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