‘Retirees to be paid in batches,’ Says Ebonyi Pension Board
From Chinedu Nwafor, Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Local Government Staff Pension Board has said the arrears of pension and gratuities owed to Local Government Retirees would be paid in batches beginning from first Quarter next year.
The decision, according to the board, to split the payment into batches was due to the humongous money involved.
The Executive Secretary of the pension board, Comrade Emeka Nwonu, stated this Thursday while briefing Journalists on the efforts of government to pay the backlog of arrears of pension and gratuities of Local Government Retirees.
Nwonu said a total of N9bn naira is needed to offset the Retirees’ arrears of benefits from 1996 to 2023.
He said the board had agreed with the Council Chairmen that the pensions and gratuities would be paid in batches, beginning from those who retired between June 2023 and December 2024.
“We presented the total amount to be paid to the local government Retirees from 1996 to 2023 amounting to over N9 billion to the Council chairmen, but they said that the money was humongous and sighted reports of whistle blowers alleging corruption in salaries management of the local government workers, stressing that workers had been retiring but salaries kept increasing.
“It is in the light of above that the local government Chairmen agreed on table payment method which would paved way for the ongoing physical verification. This was why local government workers salaries were delayed. With this, ghost workers would be fished out and money saved.
“The current local government Chairmen inherited the debt of pensions and gratuities from successive administrations. The accumulation came upon the unexpected stoppage of remittance of 15% shares from the the local government workers salaries, wages and allowances.
“As my office is putting the final touches on the processes as directed by the Governor, the local government Chairmen are on their own, doing a lot of things so significant towards resolving this issue.
“My office and the local government Chairmen have agreed that the pensions and gratuities will be paid in phases, beginning from those who retired between June 2023 and December 2024.
“Hopefully, the payment will commence within the first quarter of next year,” he said.
Nwonu argued that the State Governor, Rt Hon Bldr Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, should not be linked to the non payment of Local Government Retirees, because it’s the responsibilities of the Council Chairmen who are autonomous to do so.
According to him, the Governor has paid the arrears of pension and gratuities of the State Government Retirees amounting to N7bn and has advised the Council Chairmen to extend similar gesture to the Local Government Retirees.
On the ongoing one-week strike by NLC in the State, Nwonu described it as uncalled for, given what the Governor had done uplift the welfare of workers since he assumed office and urged the workers to ignore any call for strike action.
“Ebonyi workers should ignore their so called leaders who are federal civil servants and be mindful of and cooperate with the governor who has them at heart. They should see the need to separate themselves from the strike in their own interest.
“The governor is a good man and places Ebonyi people first in everything, the workers should take advantage of it and open further discussions with the governor should they need any other thing from him,” Nwonu concluded
