ABIA PENSIONERS REJECT SIGNED MoA, DEMAND FULL PAYMENT OF ARREARS, GRATUITIES
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A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) requiring pensioners to forfeit their gratuities and a portion of their pension arrears was signed by the state government and NUP leadership. The MoA has been disowned by the Abia Pensioners’ Forum, a pressure organization inside the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP).
Okey Kanu, the coordinator of the group, claimed at a press conference in Umuahia that pensioners were underpaid when previous administrations calculated and paid their arrears on their benefits. They applauded Governor Alex Otti for his decision to settle the debts left by his predecessors, but they begged him to pay the entire amount owing rather than just a portion of it.
The group questioned why the government would negotiate with vulnerable retirees who had been denied and starved over the years and accused both the government and the NUP leadership of hiding the MoA in secrecy. Governor Otti was requested by them to revoke the MoA and restore their outstanding gratuities and pension arrears.
Prince Okey Kanu, the Commissioner for Information, responded by saying that it was unjust for a faction of the retiree community to use blackmail as a form of retaliation for the government’s goodwill rather than expressing gratitude. He said that the pension was “full and final” and that the government was willing to work with pensioners going forward, but only under their leadership and not that of a splinter group.
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