Elderly citizens and
Pensioners awaiting for their pension to be paid
…vows to occupy major
streets, Tuesday next week.
Ibrahim Bakare
Pensioners
in Rivers State have issued a one-week ultimatum to the Rivers State Government
to pay them all their pension entitlements or they would have no option but
embark on a protest.
The
Pensioners gave this today after a meeting at the Rivers State Secretariat.
Leader and
Spokesman of the Pensioners Lucky Ati told that if by Tuesday, November 5,
nothing is done by the state government to pay them, they would occupy the
streets.
Ati lamented
that the government had released a budget of over N33m for pensioners yet
nothing has happened and noted that 4,000 retirees in the state have been
suffering with some even dead.
“it is our right, we are not asking anything outside our right, we enter into a pensionable employment that says after 35 years of service or 60 years of age, they are going to pay us gratuity and prompt pension, between now and Tuesday next week, if government do not do anything, we are going back to the streets”.
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Other
Pensioners who spoke lamented that for 5 years they have been owed, they said
out of 4,400 Pensioners government only paid 800 persons noting that over 4
months after Biometrics was done on Pensioners, no payment has been made them.