Retired local government workers and teachers of primary schools in Delta State on Thursday staged a protest over the non-payment of their gratuities and pensions by the State Government.
The aggrieved retirees, who came out in their numbers, blocked the Delta State Government House in Asaba, the state capital, in protest against what they described as wickedness on the part of the government.
Bearing placards with inscriptions such as, ‘Okowa pay us our pension’, the protesters said they have not been paid their gratuities and pensions since 2014.
In a protest letter signed by the Chairman, Local Government Retirees, A. O. Mode; and Chairman, Primary School Retirees, the retirees noted that “As of November 2020, the government owed the retirees over N51bn accrued rights.
“There is an unremitted deduction of the sum of N5.9bn to the Bureau of Local Government Pension by ALGON during the era of non-payment of salaries between 2015 and 2017.”
Reacting to the protest, the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Patrick Ukah, claimed that the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa led-administration had stepped up the pensioners’ support from N150m to N300m.
