BEVERLY HILLS, November 26, (THEWILL) – Retired senior citizens in Delta State are currently angry over the purported delay-pension scheme operated by the state government, THEWILL has learnt.
THEWILL further learnt that the retired public servants are now set to battle Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan over the system which they described as unfair since many had died waiting for the pension.
The protesting pensioners on Tuesday barricaded the entrance to the state House of Assembly complex in Asaba for the second time, protesting the non-payment of pension arrears worth over N16.9billion.
The Assembly complex was shut partially for several hours as the pensioners carrying various placards prevented people from entering until they left angrily to other state institutions to register their grievances.
A similar protest had taken place in September where the pensioners accused the state government of not releasing their share of the contributory pension scheme of which 5 per cent was deducted from their salaries while in service.
Specifically, the pensioners told Governor Uduaghan to pay them their accumulated sum running into over N16.9billion before the expiration of his tenure in office, chanting; ‘Uduaghan pay us our pensions’, ‘Pay us our N16.9 billion’, ‘Retirees are dying’,’ Gov. Uduaghan stop this Fraud’, ‘Save our souls’ and ‘Pensioners are dying due to non-payment of pension’ in one of the recent protest march held in Asaba, the state capital.
The alleged failure by the Delta State Government to pay the five percent monthly wage-bill of its workers into the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund (RBBRF) account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which had accumulated to over N16.9 billion as at December 2013 triggered the fresh crisis in the state, THEWILL has learnt.
Sources said that a section of the pensioners under the auspices of Association of Contributory Retirees had in September, given Uduaghan an ultimatum to ratify the anomaly, failure of which they threaten to stage massive rallies in Asaba, Agbor, Warri, Kwale, Ughelli and also sensitise the Delta State public workers ,the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Joint Negotiating Council to commence industrial action against the State government to compel them to honour and obey the Pension Reform Law 2008 signed by Governor Uduaghan.
The embittered pensioners, who wore forlorn faces as they protested to the State House of Assembly to register their grievance over the delay-pension scheme system, had condemned the non-payment of their pensions, warning of mass rallies and an impending strike action except the Delta State government issues an irrevocable standing payment order (ISPO) to the Accountant-General of the Federation by 30th October.
THEWILL learnt that the pensioners had accused the Uduaghan led-government of irregular payment of its 10 per cent counterpart contribution into the retirement savings account of the retirees. But the state government had claimed in April, prior to their agitations, that it had so far contributed over N16billion as part of its counterpart funding of the pension scheme in the state.
It was however not clear if the claims of the agitating pensioners was part of the funds.
The senior citizens faulted the state government , saying the delays in the payment of retirees’ benefits is up to two-three years even as the chairman of the protesting pensioners, Ajueyitsi Eric Ovwiroro, blamed the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) for delaying the payment into the retirees’ savings account for up to six months, adding that in all, the State government contravened Pension Reform Law 2008, section 16, sub-section 1-6.
Speaking two months after the earlier protest, chairman of ACR in the state, Ovwiroro, alleged that “no concrete action has been taken,” lamenting that retirees continue to die without receiving their benefits.
“The Contributory Pension Scheme in Delta State is fraught with a lot of challenges, which has caused the ACR members sufferings, pains and death since 2010 till date without PENCOM or the state government taking any positive action to save our souls, despite series of our cries,” he lamented.
He said that the pension scheme was being operated at the whims and caprices of the state government, which he insisted, was at variance with the Contributory Pension Law that kicks against government interference.
“Again, workers were made to believe that PENCOM would police the system and ensure that workers are paid their correct entitlement immediately they retire. This is contrary to what is happening now.
“Accordingly, we call on Mr. President, federal lawmakers, the state House of Assembly and PENCOM to save our souls now by taking viable, visible and feasible action.
“There is no need pretending that all is well, when those who served Delta State, and indeed Nigeria for 35 years are being cast away to die while the governor and his deputy will earn salaries for life after serving the state for only eight years. This, no doubt, is man’s inhumanity to man,” he said.
It would be recalled that Governor Uduaghan had some time ago attributed the delay in the payment of arrears of the pensioners to the discrepancies in the actual numbers of pensioners in the state. He said the government had delayed the payment of arrears because the government had to conduct a screening exercise to ascertain the actual figure of pensioners, because, according to him, there are fake names that were responsible for the bloated and bogus figures in the pension scheme
But Ovwiroro dismissed the excuse of the State Government officials as mischievous and a ploy to delay indefinitely the payment and deny contributory retirees of their benefits.
Nonetheless, Uduaghan was quoted to have said that his administration has contributed over N16 billion as counterpart funding to the New Pension Scheme since its inception in 2007, adding that the state had spent over N800 million monthly for the payment of pension to retirees under the old and new pension scheme.
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