LG pensioners in Nasarawa state protest non payment of 10-year gratituity

(Lafia/Lokoja

No fewer than 6,000 local government pensioners in Nasarawa state on Tuesday, protested non payment of their of their gratituity by the local government authorities.

A correspondent of Duaglobalnews reports that the pensioners, wearing long faces, were seen carrying placards some of which read, ‘save our souls, ‘Governor Abdullahi Sule save us from hunger’smong others.

Speaking with journalists on the issue, an official of pensioners’union, Mal. Adokwe Ladan, expressed displeasure over the plight of the pensioners occasioned by non payment of their gratituity.

He said:“Some of our members have died of hunger, cannot afford medical / children school fees resulting from bad treatment by chairmen.

“After serving the state meritoriously for 35 years, the authorities of local government councils had refused to pay our gratuity for over ten years now.

“We have diligently paid our dues in the cause of our service career and cannot be placed on second line charge to the advantage of political office holders.

“Our hope lies in God and the state government in view of the hard conditions being subjected to due lack of gratuity and constant payment of pension.”

According to Ladan, retired local government in the state were yet to receive their March and April pension, the effects of partial lockdown on them and their dependants, due to coronavirus pandemic, notwithstanding.

The official urged the state House of Assembly to review the monthly remittance upward from the present 15 percent, in line with current realities.

He also called on the state government to increase the monthly minimum pension to ensure prompt payment of pension at the local government level in the state.

He also called on the Governor of the state, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, to intervene to avoid a situation whereby Chairmen would give his administration a bad name.

The online publication noted the timely intervention of the Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe, to averted the development from degenerating into uncontrol level.

Speaking with the protestants, Akabe described non payment of their gratituity and lack of constant payment of pension as wrong.

He promised to meet with the representatives of the pensioners and the LG Chairmen, with a view to finding lasting solution to the problem.

Reacting to the protest, Aminu
According to Maifata, the law stipulates that councils must remit 15 per cent of their allocations to the pension bureau, adding that they had done that up to April.

Meanwhile, some members of the public in lokoja, kogi state, have expressed concern over the plight of serving local government staff in many states of the federation.

“A situation where by local government workers go home with percentage salary as low as 35 per cent in some states is not a healthy development.

“This is in realisation of the fact that, council workers are also making their positive contributions to good governance at the third their of governent.

“More importantly, this class of public workers are also facing the pangs of the harsh economic reality in the country,a council worker who preferred anonymity told our correspondent in an interview in the state capital.

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