Retired civil servants at the state and local government levels in Niger State have appealed to the Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, to resume payment of retirement benefits to pensioners without further delay, saying number of deaths of senior citizens continue to rise daily .
The emergency meeting had in attendance Niger State pensioners, which included the Association of Head of Service & Permanent Secretaries Forum, the Directors Forum, the Concern Citizens Forum, the Association of Local Government Retirees, as well as a Pressure Group.
Chairman, Alternate of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), of the coalition, Steven Zita, noted that the meeting was aimed at briefing pensioners on the prevailing circumstances surrounding the stoppage of payment of their entitlements by the state government, even as 25 billion naira was earmarked for the same purpose in 2024.
The JAC Chair explained that Governor Umar Bago had promised that (25) Billion Naira was set aside to clear the backlog of gratuity.
He said the government released the first tranche of N10 Billion Naira, out of which N6.5 Billion Naira was paid to pensioners, but, regrettably, since March 2024, the payment stopped .
To ensure their plights receive adequate attention, Zita said they have engaged with the traditional rulers in the state to plead with the government to pay them as they keep losing members daily, while others are bedridden.
Other pensioners expressed their frustration as they appealed to the government to resume payments without further delay.
Following the cries and appeals, Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has pledged to resume payment, which he noyed was stopped due to irregularities.
On the issue of review of pension, for pensioners under the defined pension, the governor directed that a verification be done, and the record be forwarded to him for review.
(Editor: Roluke Ogundele)
