Benue Pensioners Protest Arrears, Regret Financing Governor Alia’s Nomination Forms

Pensioners in Benue State defied a heavy downpour on Wednesday to protest the non-payment of outstanding monthly pensions and gratuities dating back to the year 2000.

Operating under the Concerned Pensioners Association a splinter group of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners the demonstrators marched through the streets of Makurdi along Naka Road. Carrying placards with varying descriptions, the aggrieved retirees lamented their worsening living conditions and urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene.

Speaking during the demonstration, the chairman of the association, Akosu Orban, stated that the state government owes between 38 and 62 months of pension arrears across local and state government levels. He further raised concerns over the failure to implement constitutional pension harmonisation, revealing that some older retirees are still receiving as low as ₦2,000 monthly, compared to the ₦40,000 federal benchmark.

In a surprising disclosure, Orban admitted that the retirees had previously pooled their meager resources to help purchase the re-election nomination forms for Governor Hyacinth Alia, hoping it would compel him to honor campaign promises made in 2023.

“We regretted that step we took,” Orban expressed, stating that the economic hardship has taken a severe emotional and economic toll on their families. The group threatened to take their demonstration a step further by occupying the Government House if their demands remained unaddressed.

Reacting to the development, the Benue State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Michael Oglegba, stated that the current administration inherited a staggering debt backlog of over ₦300 billion in unpaid pensions and gratuities which he described as the highest inheritance of its kind in Nigeria.

While acknowledging the retirees’ right to protest, Oglegba maintained that the administration has been doing its best with available resources. According to the commissioner, the state government has consistently paid 100 percent gratuity to all civil servants who retired from June 2023 to date.

He assured the public that the government is actively chiping away at the inherited backlog, explaining that the massive volume of the historic debt makes it impossible to clear all at once.