Pensioners in Rivers State have commended the Rivers State government for the additional one billion added to the ongoing released Monthly 1Billion to clear pension gratuities, death benefits indebtedness by the state government.
The chairman of Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Rivers State Chapter, comrade Collins Nwankwo in interview with newsmen said the additional one billion released by the state government to clear pension backlog will automatically make more people to be paid and will tackle the agitation by waiting pensions who hae been on a long queue to receive their pension or gratuties since after retirement come.
sir Collins Nwankwo said the governor have done well in assuaging the pains of pensioners but also and appealed for more funds to be added the heavy pension indebtedness by the Rivers state Government Inflation experienced in the country is also affecting the pensioners purchasing power as money in Nigeria Looses value on a daily basis.said that the current administration has only increased the payment from one billion naira to two billion naira.
He argued strongly that this amount is insufficient to clear the backlog of gratuities and pension arrears, and that the money has lost value in the hands of retirees as those who plan to build house after retirement can no longer do so due to part payment methods.
Also speaking at the media parley the State Secretary of Nigeria union of Pensioners, Dr Joseph Agbo, called for the harmonization of pension income
He said as when the pension calculation was cumulated two years ago, the Rivers State government is owing the state pensions one hundred and ten billion as such, something drastic must be done to lessen the huge pension ideptedness by the Rivers stste government.
He explained that those who retire some years back are still earning peanut as pension income compared to their contemporaries who just retired from the system he used himself as example by saying that he retired 20 years ago on a pension level of nineteen thousand as state pension while Federal share of pension then was twelve thousand but that the federal shares has been increased to twenty six thousand While the state shares is still remains at nineteen thousand and that nothing whatsoever have been added to it while the federal shares are reviewed periodically and it keeps growing but the state pension allowance have remained stagnant.
He also criticized the state government’s approach to paying gratuities and pension arrears, urged the government to prioritize paying complete benefits to retirees with smaller benefits so they can use the funds effectively.He stated that the idea of making partial payments is unacceptable as the pensioners do not have a special market where they buy food stuff but the general market.
He also noted that last year the Governor gave all civil servant one hundred thousand as Christmas gift but nothing was done for the pensioners despite all their pleas to the governor, ans again beg Governor Fubara to come to their aids as cost of living is going up by the day.
Our correspondent reports that the pensioners are also calling on the state government to increase the monthly pension allowance to match with the new 70 thousand naira minimum wage since they all go to the same market due to overbearing inflation plaguing the nation at the moment