Imo Pensioners suspend planned protest
The Imo state branch of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) at the weekend, suspended its planned demonstration earlier scheduled to take place on today in Owerri, the state capital. It will be recalled that the state NUP leadership on December 7 issued a statement directing each of the 27 local government area chapters to send at least 10 members to participate in a demonstration.
However, in a statement on Sunday in Owerri, the leadership of the NUP explained that the suspension of the protest followed commitment made by the state government to pay the arrears of pension owed to them before Christmas. The statement jointly signed by Chief Gideon Ezeji and Livinus Asiegbu, the chairman and secretary of the NUP respectively stated that the union believed the assurance of government that pensioners will be paid their arrears before Christmas.
“Pensioners in Imo will be so glad to get the arrears owe them by Imo government to enable them join other Imo people and Nigerians to celebrate the 2016 Christmas.’’ The statement listed the arrears as at November 2016 as follows: civil pensioners (21 months), local government pensioners (22 months), retired primary school teachers (31 months), IBC pensioners (42 months), retired permanent secretaries 21 months and Alvan Ikoku College of Education pensioners 76 months. The statement further noted that since 1998 Imo pensioners were yet to be paid gratuities, while government has not harmonized pension increases of pensioners since the year 2000 to date.
“We are hopeful that government will live up to the commitment made in our meetings with them and for that we felt it was imperative to hold them by their words and suspend the Dec.12 planned protest’’, the statement added. “The union leadership therefore stated that they hope each pensioner will get at least 10 months’ arrears from what is owe each group as listed above. The statement thanked the state government for its proposal to pay 40 per cent of the arrears owe pensioners, saying, “what we are against is the writing off the 60 per cent balance of our arrears.’’
