By Amos Aar
PENSIONERS in Benue State have cried out, lamenting the failure of Governor Samuel Ortom in paying 38 months arrears for state pensioners and 74 months arrears for local government pensioners.
The pensioners blame the Benue State House of Assembly’s failure to checkmate the excesses of Governor Ortom.
Chairman, Aggrieved and Concerned Pensioners, Comrade Alex Akosu, in a telephone interview with National Record after a meeting of the pensioners held in Makurdi on Wednesday said if the Assembly had performed its oversight function, Governor Ortom would not have owed them 38 months and 74 months respectively.
Comrade Akosu added that the pensioners also drew attention of the lawmakers to section 2(10) of the 1999 constitution which provides that gratuity and pension are regulated by law and should not be withheld by whatever means.
He lamented that despite that constitutional provision, the Ortom administration is holding their pension while gratuity is a forgotten issue.
“We did a protest to the State House of Assembly and drew their attention to their oversight function which provides that they have the powers to checkmate the excesses of the governor but they did not do that. If they had done it, the governor wouldn’t have owed us for 38 months.
“We also drew their attention to section 2(10) of the 1999 constitution which states that gratuity and pension are regulated by law and should not be withheld by whatever means. But they are withholding our gratuity and pension. Gratuity has even become a forgotten issue. State pensioners are being owed 38 months arrears while local government is 74 Months”, Akosu intimated.
He expressed worry that Governor Ortom will be exiting office in the next few months without paying the arrears.
Akosu, who commended President Muhammadu Buhari for making plans to change naira notes come December 2022 advised that if Governor Ortom has heaped money in the house like other politicians, he should wisely use it to clear their pension and gratuities before the money will become a waste by December.
“I’m advising Ortom that if he is clever, let him use that money and pay us [pensioners] cash, if at all he is keeping that kind of money”, the Chairman of Aggrieved pensioners counselled.
