Pensioners’ protest in Calabar halted by soldiers
Pensioners protesting the nonpayment of their pensions by the Cross River state government were chased away by soldiers on Monday, Daily Times gathered.
The pensioners who blocked the Murtala Mohammed Federal highway to show their grievances to the state government were dispersed by soldiers.
According to an eyewitness who pleaded not be mentioned, the pensioners who clutched their files had just arrived and sat on the road and before they could settle down soldiers came and chased away all of them.
He said, “Some journalists who came there were also flogged by the soldiers and everyone ran away. They could not speak with the pensioners before this happened.”
Reacting, the Special Adviser Media and Publicity to Governor Ben Ayade, Christian Ita, said in a statement titled, ‘Cross River not owing verified pensioners, says commissioner,’ explained that no verified pensioner in the state or local government service was owed pension.
The statement reads partly, “Speaking with some local government retirees who claimed to be owed months of pension, the state Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mrs Stella Odey, promised that every genuine pensioner will be paid once they undergo screening and are captured in the payroll.
“She said the periodic screening became imperative following the discovery of a high number of ghost pensioners in the payroll.
“According to her, no verified pensioner is owed a dime by the state government. She urged them to cooperate with government by submitting themselves for screening in order to be captured for payment.”
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