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By Yusuf Salihu Sansani, Jalingo
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) Taraba State Council has given the State Government ultimatum of July 7, 2022 to settle all benefits of Pensioners or face a massive protest by Pensioners and retirees who are yet to be captured for pension. Chairman of the NUP in the state Comrade Kefas Katan who gave the ultimatum during a World Press Conference in Jalingo said Pensioners in Taraba State are tired of lip services and false promises by the State Government and will no longer tolerate it.
Comrade Katan said as of now there are over one thousand Local Government retirees who left service from one to ten years that are yet to be enrolled even for pension talk more of payment of their gratuities.
The Chairman further said payment of gratuity in the State stopped on those who retired in 2010 and the backlog of gratuities State stood at over N30billion with more civil servants retiring daily.
He observed that the State Government also refused to implement the 33 percent pension increase which have been approved since 2011 and implemented in most states in the country but yet to be implemented in Taraba State and failed to pay the consequential adjustment in pension arising from the implementation of the N30,000:00 Minimum wage in 2019. Katan also warned that Pensioners will no longer vote any politician who has no mission or any clear cut program for pensioners in Taraba State in particular and Nigeria in general.
He noted that the NUP in the State has tried it’s best through individuals, organizations, traditional rulers, the State House of Assembly, engage all relevant agencies in pension administration as well as made frantic efforts to have audience with the State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku through various means and even through the Deputy Governor Engineer Haruna Manu but all their efforts met brick walls.
The Chairman said if by the expiration of the dateline which is July 7th, 2022 the Taraba Government refuses to listen to them as usual and failed to solve all their problems, pensioners in the state will embark on a massive protest with members of their families who are feeling the brunt more from the failures of the State Government to settle the entitlements of their bread winners to the Government House in Jalingo and the Taraba State House of Assembly and in the sixteen Local Government Areas of the State to press home their demands.
