Abia pensioners to Otti: We can’t forfeit our gratuities, revisit MoA with NUP

Abia pensioners to Otti: We can’t forfeit our gratuities, revisit MoA with NUP

* Beg for full payment of pension arrears

* Payment full, final – Abia govt, alleges blackmail

By Steve Oko

Abia pensioners have told Gov. Alex Otti to rescind and revisit the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), his administration “purportedly signed” with the state leadership of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, where pensioners were meant to forfeit their gratuities and certain percentage of their accumulated pension arrears as condition for their payment by government.

The pensioners who spoke under the aegis of Abia Pensioners’ Forum, a pressure group within Abia NUP, disowned the said MoA, claiming that pensioners were not carried along by the state leadership of NUP which they accused of compromise.

But the State Government, in a swift reaction, insisted that the payment of pension arrears was “full and final”, accusing the group of blackmail.

Addressing a press conference in Umuahia, Coordinator of the group, Okey Kanu, who read from a prepared speech jointly signed by six other members of the steering committee of Abia Pensioners’ Forum, insisted on the full payment of their pension arrears, as well as gratuities.

He alleged that pensioners were shortchanged in the calculation and payment of pension arrears owed by previous administrations.

The group which, commended Gov. Otti for his decision to pay debts owed by his predecessors, however, pleaded with him to pay the full arrears and not part.

They said:”It was totally unfathomable how the State Government arrived at the figures it paid to each pensioner as arrears. It was a situation whereby the more one expectéd, the lesser he got.

” How does one explain a situation where those who retired on the same Grade Level got amounts diametrically different? Indeed, what most pensioners got was exactly the arrears accumulated by the present administration from the time it started paying half monthly pension.

“It was in the course of inquiries as to what led to what that the issue of a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between the State Government and NUP, Abia State officials surfaced. According to this Agreement, the State Government should pay only a part of the arrears, while the balance will be forfeited by pensioners.

“The last straw that broke the camel’s back was when we learnt that our gratuity was also forfeited to the State Government in this MOA. Consequent, on these backdrops, we, instead of rejoicing, ‘were thrown into mourning. We wept bitterly, raising our hands to God for intervention on our behalf as it was unfathomable how we could lose the fruits of our labour, especially after 35 years of service or 60 years of age (whichever came earlier), This development till date adversely affected the already. precarious health conditions of many pensioners.

“More disturbing is that there was no template or parameters published by the State Government as used in the computation of the arrears. Pensioners were paid what suited those who computed the figures. It explains why pensioners who retired on the same Grade Level and on the same date received different amounts.”

The group accused both Government and NUP leadership of shrouding the purported MoA in secrecy, adding that the Governor never attached any conditions during his campaigns when he promised to clear pension arrears if elected.

” The Governor never predicated that fulfilment of that promise on the signing of any agreement with pensioners, and with a clause to waive the arrears (or part of it thereof), including gratuity as a condition precedent for doing so. Signing such agreement to forfeit a legitimate and statutory entitlement has not happened anywhere in the history of the world”.

The group further queried why Government would negotiate with ” very vulnerable pensioners who were deprived and famished over the years, and desperately needed a life line to survive.”

They, therefore, pleaded with Gov. Otti to cancel the said MoA and reinstate their unpaid pension arrears and gratuities, and pass on same to successive administration(s) if he finds it too heavy to pay.

The group argued that Otti’s administration was, after all, not the one that accumulated the arrears, hence, it should simply pass it on instead of asking pensioners to forfeit their legitimate entitlements.

They urged the Governor who recently agreed to offset the N18 billion debt owed staff of various institutions by previous administration in 12 installments, to extend similar gesture to pensioners by paying them in bits instead of asking them to forgo their entitlements.

“His Excellency’s revisitation and reconsideration of the said MOA will not be a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength, understanding, empathy and godliness.

“Pensioners are on their knees pleading that even if His Excellency’s administration decides not to make any further payments on the arrears, pensioners shall still appreciate the one he had already paid to pensioners while the balance remains debt for future administration(s).”

The group noted that Gov. Otti “has made huge positive difference in the governance of Abia as well as in the regularisation of monthly pension”, assuring him of their continued support , saying they “do not want to go back to Egypt or the locust years.”

The pensioners who said they had written to prominent Abias and stakeholders that have the ear of the Governor including the Labour Party Leader, Peter Obi, for possible intervention, pleaded with the Governor to listen to their cries.

Other signatories to the press statement include: Emmanuel Onyenyiri, Okay Ohaeri, Zimiro Nwokocha, Emmanuel Chigbu, Godfirst Umejiaku, and V. O Gbaruko.

Responding, Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, said it was unfair for a splinter group among pensioners to reciprocate Government’s kind gestures with blackmail instead of appreciation.

He, said that Government was faithful to keep its part of the agreement negotiated with NUP leadership.

According to him, the payment was ” full and final”, although he added that Government was open to further engagements with pensioners but such must be through their leadership and not a splinter group.

“There is NUP and Concerned Abia Pensioners. They are the people interfacing with Government. NUP midwifed the agreement with Government and Government has fulfilled its part of the agreement by paying about N10 billion to pensioners.

” Whatever was paid was full and final payment of their pension arrears which they negotiated. Some of them were owed for 40 months.

” Part of the agreement was that government would be paying them 100% of their pension every month and Government has also kept that since April.

” It will be wrong for this group to try to arm-twist or blackmail Government. If PDP had come back to power, do you think that this arrears would have been paid? But this Government put money in their hands. Some got up to N8 million. They were handsomely paid.

” If for any reason they have issues, they should go to the same group that negotiated for them, and not for a splinter group to meet somewhere and issue press statement to blackmail government. That will be wrong and unacceptable.

“It shows ingratitude to a Government that is committed to the welfare of workers. Government is still open. We will engage them but through their leadership.”

 

Steve Oko, Publisher/C.E.O, WaWa News Global. For more information on advert placement and news coverage, contact us on: 08038725600, or via email stevemanofgod2000@yahoo.com; wawanewsglobal@gmail.com Always read WaWa News Global - Your most dependable online news platform for the latest breaking news in Nigeria.

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