Pension: Delta Owns N18 Billion, Five Retirees Collapse In Asaba Protest

From Matthew Ochei, Asaba
Retirees under the aegis of the Association of Contributory Retirees (ACR) of Delta State on Thursday in Asaba embarked on protest prayers for payment of over N18 billion benefits.
The members who turnout in large number matched for several kilometres in the rains from the Labour House near Okpanam to the State House of Assembly and later to Government House to make their demands.
Mr Isaiah Agbaka, Chairman, ACR Liaison Rally Committee, said that government has refused to pay their retirement benefits since 2012.
He lamented that the retirees who served the state government with honesty and hard work were being denied their retirement benefits after many years of retirement.
Agbaka said: “Not many of us were able to build a house, train their children or build alternative sources of income because of our honesty, yet we are being denied our entitlement at retirement.
“We are all aware of the signs of the time, we are suffering and no fewer than 250 members have died since 2012 from hypertension and other degrees of hardship, yet their pension are still not paid.”
He said that the retirees’ plight had become compounded and confusing particularly when they had nobody or a defined system to channel their complaints.
Also speaking, Mrs Maria Obuse, who retired in 2012, said that she had not been paid, adding that the delay was giving her serious concern due to the present economic challenge.
She also noted that her benefits would be noting to cheer about when finally paid unless government harmonised it in line with that of local government retirees in the state.
Mrs Obuse said, “What is our crime for working for the state government and retiring after 35 years? At retirement the local government workers get more money than those of us in the state.
“Things are really bad for us the retirees, many have lost hope, died, cannot pay house rents nor pay their children school fees,” she cried.
On his part, Mr Gabriel Aduwa, Chairman, ACR Rally Committee, said that the rally became necessary to get government attention to the sufferings of the retirees and make them source fund to pay the retirees.
According to him, the state government is owing about N18 billion debt under the contributory pension scheme as at 2014. He added that if this was liquidated, it would address most of the pension areas.
His words: “The state government has been owing us our entitlement for four years now, so we held this rally to ask them to pay us because we contributed the money and it is our right to get retirement benefits.
“The hiccup is that the state government failed to contribute its own part of the money and since 2012 more workers have been retiring and queuing up without being paid their retirement benefits.
Chief of Staff at Government House, Asaba Mr Tam Brisibe, who address the retirees thanked them for the peaceful nature of their protest and assured that their grievance would be channelled to the governor.