Retired Workers protest non-payment of Pensions in Niger State

Pensioners in Niger State North-central Nigeria have protested against the non-payment of their pensions and gratuities by the state government.

The retired workers in their numbers with placards of different inscriptions took their protest to the Government House, as well as the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

The inscriptions read; “Payment of pension in percentages is not acceptable”, “Pay Us our gratuity now”, and “Pensioners’ lives matter.”

The spokesman of the Pensioners, Mr. Ibrahim Mahmud, appealed to the state government to consider their plight and pay them, saying ”many of them have lost their lives due to lack of funds to offset medical bills.”

Responding to their demands, the SSG, Alhaji Ibrahim Matane, said; ”one of the reasons for the non-payment is the discovery of  anomalies in both the state and local government pension sectors which the government has been trying to resolve since 2015.

“There are pensioners who are underpaid and those that are receiving more than what they supposed to collect.

“The government is not deliberately hurting pensioners, it is doing its best within its available resources.”

He appealed appealed to the retirees be patient, promising that government will address all issues relating to pensions and gratuities of state and local government.

Mercy Chukwudiebere