From Joe Effiong, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State Council members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) have announced plans to stage widespread protests throughout the streets of Uyo, culminating in a blockade of the government house gates to assert their demands.
The pensioners lamented that every effort to get government attention to ameliorate their worsening plight has failed hence their decision to take to the streets to let the world know their predicament.
Speaking to journalists on behalf of their members in Uyo on Wednesday, the state Chairman of NUP, Obong Ekpenyong Ekpo and State Secretary, Obong Cosmos Essien explained that the worsening condition of members of the Union should be a source of concern to the government and public-spirited Nigerians.
Essien said, “The sad plight of our members is that those who retired in the 1980s with salaries of N1000, N1500 or N2000 are still collecting such funds as pension till date in Akwa Ibom State.
“Whenever you retire, what is worked out for you remains static, until the 1999 constitution in section 173 (3) (2) (10) said explicitly that pension will be reviewed every five years along with whatever increase is given to workers. Government here bluntly refuses to implement the review.
“Can you imagine that in present-day Nigeria, many of our members are still collecting N2000 a month, some N1000 a month and their current situation is very pathetic, some don’t have children to care for them; few privileged have while those who have children late are still training them in school”.
“When Akwa Ibom government promised us minimum pension of N20,000 for those who returned before 1997 and N30,000 for those afterwards and asked us to inform members across board, there was jubilation and they also promised to start payment from April 2023 to avoid accumulation of arrears, however till date nothing has been paid. All pressure on government to implement it failed woefully.
“The arrears they tried to avoid have accumulated. We have been praying, crying and reaching out to those in government to help but no sign of change. Our members are dying daily because they cannot afford drugs, over 65% of pensioners are hypertensive, and diabetic.
“Survival in Nigeria presently is very expensive and our members are no longer coping.
We have brought our plight to government and they snubbed us.” The statement NUP secretary.
The union, however, expressed gratitude to Governor Umo Eno for the payment of gratuity stressing that the governor has within the nine months of his stay in government paid about 14 billion in gratuities which cut across civil pensioners, local government pensioners, primary school pensioners and next of kins.
The group added “If other administrations have made similar efforts, I think we would not have been in this kind of dilemma we find ourselves today. We really appeal to him to continue as a pastor with a heart of human kindness to salvage the situation.
“He must not toe the part of his predecessors who abandoned the aged citizens and our prayer for the governor will be ceaseless in order to do more “
The group highlighted, “We have realized that pensioners have nobody to speak for them and let the world know their plight in Akwa Ibom. We appeal to the incumbent governor to come to our aid by establishing a pension commission or board.
They lamented, “We have had cases where the past governors announced publicly that they are not owing any pension and I can tell you that 80% of pensioners who are tenants have had their property thrown out by their landlords after receiving such news on the ground that they are liars.
“We have moved around many times as state exco to plead with the landlords that the news is not true. Sometimes it takes us a whole month going round and reconciling the situation between evicted tenants and their landlords.”
They stated, “These old men are crying daily, they are dying slowly because they can’t afford decent living on N2000, or N1000 pension monthly. Government must remember that pensioners who are mostly old, aged citizens must be cared for.
Failure of the government to care for these people means they don’t regard their parents. The world must hear the woes, Akwa Ibom pensioners are going through.
The union maintained that they have approximately between 25,000 to 28,000 members. “This is because as many are dying on a daily basis, others retire into the system too, it is a situation of coming in and exiting of members same time.
They insist that notwithstanding the governor’s recent efforts, over N40 billion in outstanding pension and gratuities debts remains pending.
“We the union leaders are also under attack from pensioners who think we are not doing enough to get government to ameliorate their plight, and we willingly accepted their attacks because we can only say we have performed when money flows in their hands.
“We are begging you journalists to help us inform the governor, stakeholders and the general public of our pathetic conditions of living after spending our entire youthful age and strength to serve our fatherland.”