Kebbi pensioners start 3-day fasting over entitlements

Retired civil servants in Kebbi State under the umbrella of Kebbi State Retired Officers Welfare Association has declared a 3-day fasting and prayers for its members across the state over the pension and gratuity arrears being owed them by the state government.

Before embarking on the protest called by their leadership yesterday in Birnin Kebbi, the unions of State Government retired workers, Local Government Retired Workers and Local Government Education Authority Retired Workers gathered at the Jumat praying ground in Birnin Kebbi to offer what they described as special prayers and after it declared a 3-day fasting for its members.

The leadership of the retired state civil servants had disagreed with the state government over its decision to pay them 40 percent of the pension and gratuity arrears amounting to N5 billion instead of the 100 percent amounting to N12 billion which they claimed it promised to pay them.

Leading other members of the union in prayers, Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, a retired civil servant from Argugun LGEA, prayed God to touch the heart of the government to pay their entitlements in full.

The State Government on Monday met the leadership of the pensioners, but the meeting ended in a deadlock as the union leaders insisted on the full payment being owed them.

The Chairman of the association, comrade Ahmed Muhammed Bunza condemned what he called government’s adamant attitude to the retired workers over their pension issue, saying the federal government had released enough fund for the settlement of backlog of pension arrears.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting with the union leaders yesterday, the Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammed Augie said the State Government had released N5 billion for the payment of pension and gratuity arrears. He said the payment would be strictly made through e payment and only those earlier screened by the committee set up by government would be paid.