By Andrew Onyejuruuwa
Report from Owerri, the Imo State capital has it that the police allegedly prevented the pensioners who convened at the Imo International Convention Centre (IICC), Owerri from gaining entrance to the centre. The retirees were wanted to use the centre to carry out their protests against Governor Hope Uzodimma who has refused to pay them since the Supreme Court of Nigeria imposed him as Governor of Imo State.
But even with the frustration from officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, the pensioners went ahead and protested against non-payment of their five-month pensions, which they claim had lasted since Uzodimma came to power in January. They also protested against the non-payment of entitlements of some of their members for over 80 months.
Some of the protesters carried placards to ask alms on the streets of Owerri, saying it was better for them to beg openly as Governor Uzodimma was yet to give directives for the payments. They argued that begging alms would enable them to remain alive and take their case to the “court of public opinion.”
Some of the placards bore the inscriptions, “We Are Dying; Pay Us Our Pension; We Can No Longer Bear The Suffering; It Is Better To Beg On The Streets And Allow The People Know How We Are Suffering In The Hands Of This Administration; Ihedioha Administration Verified Us And Paid Us Regularly Before He Left Office and Why Can’t This Administration Continue From There?”
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, claimed the reason why Gov. Uzodimma has not paid was because there was so much fraud in the pensions system, adding that the state government was sanitising the system and urged the retirees to submit their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and account details to enable the government to carry out thorough verification.
However, it would be recalled that one of the things Ihadioha’s government carried ou earlier was the same verification, which enabled his administration to pay them regularly.
In a related development, the employees of the state House of Assembly and the Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) have protested against alleged 47 per cent cut in their salaries, which is similar to what former Governor Rochas Okorocha did during his time. They called on the Governor Uzodimma to restore their pay according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Act 1990 (article 10: 13), which Nigeria is a signatory.
