Enugu Pensioners Beg Gov. Ugwuanyi To Pay Their Entitlements

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Thursday, July 29th, 2021

…Saying We Are Dying

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Retirees of various parastatals in Enugu State, South East Nigeria, have send save our Soul (SOS) on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to graciously direct the commencement of payment of their entitlements in order to save them from untimely death.

They said they have been struggling to have even one meal a day with difficulty because of inability to access their pension entitlements several years after their retirement.

Some of the affected retirees are from Library Board, Daily Star Newspaper, Water Corporation, Rural Electrification Board, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS), Arts and Culture and Tourism Board among others.

The pensioners in a statement made available to African Examiner in Enugu Thursday signed on their behalf by Mr. Ferdinand Okonkwo, expressed gratitude to the Governor for making it possible for them to undergo verification and biometric capturing early this year, adding they were full of expectation.

“We are very happy that the Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi sometime in February directed that retired staff of these parastatals of Enugu State be verified and captured biometrically, so that government could start paying our deserved entitlements. Since then, we have been waiting patiently to receive alert to assuage our pains and predicament, but to no avail.

“As a result, we have been subjected to excruciating experience and frustration, with harsh condition of living afflicting us. Many of our colleagues have died of hunger, sickness without accessing their pension entitlements.

“Worse still is that we have been faced with severe difficulty of securing medical care for members of our respective families and dependants, thereby making us more vulnerable to diseases and death,” they noted.

The elder Statesmen as they are fondly called, therefore appealed to Ugwuanyi to exploit the milk of kindness in him to rescue them from perishing, recalling how the Governor raised their hope during last Workers Day celebration at Okpara Square, where he expressed concern of his administration to address problems of parastatals in the state.

“We need to survive this turbulent period. We need to feed our family, and take care of our health needs. Besides, we need to pay school fees for our children.

“As senior citizens who served our fatherland meritoriously, we have no other means of livelihood except to fall back on our pension. So we beg our amiable governor to make it possible for us to start receiving our due entitlements.