The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Imo State chapter, has lamented the non-payment of pension arrears to a majority of the senior citizens in the state by Governor Rochas Okorocha, stressing that most of their members are exposed to undue hardship as a result of the ill-treatment handed down to them by the Imo State government. They want the government to pay at least 50 percent of the arrears rather than the payment of three months out of 22 months owed some of the pensioners.

The Union made this known in a communiqué issued at the end of November 2015 state council meeting held at the NUP secretariat located at the World Bank area of Owerri.

A communiqué of the council made available to journalists on Sunday and signed by the chairman, Chief Gideon Ezeji and Mr Livinus Asiegbu, the secretary, appealed to payment officials to treat pensioners with care.

“From November 16 to Friday, November 21, pensioners were exposed to blazing heat of the sun, payment only started late Wednesday with the payment of few local government pensioners and retired primary school teachers’’, the statement noted.

“It is regrettably that primary school pensioners owed 22 months arrears are paid only three months rather than fifty percent of the arrears as announced by the governor.

“The council unanimously rejected the governor’s pronouncement to spread the remaining arrears of the arrears of pensions owed the retired primary school teachers to 36 months , the communiqué added.

Continuing, the council members observed with dismay the missing of the names of many pensioners in the list of verified pensioners in Imo State.

The members however called for 100 per cent payment of all pensioners earning below N10,000 and payment of three months arrears to state pensioners earning above N10, 000.

The council demanded the payment of remaining accrued arrears of pensions to all categories of pensioners, as well as harmonise the pensions of Imo based on 6 per cent federal government award of 2003, 15% 0f 2007 and 33% of 2011.

The council resolved further to call on the state government to commence payment of gratuities to Imo pensioners from where it stopped in 2014.

Delegates thanked the state governor for commencing the payment of the arrears of pensions to Imo pensioners and advised all pensioners to take advantage of the exercise to collect their entitlements.