Pensioners in Abia State today Thursday 29th 2019 embarked on a protest on the street of Umuahia the State capital over their unpaid backlog of pension arrears.
Speaking with Abia Facts online TV reporter, the Secretary of Abia Concern Pensioners Chief Okezie Emeka lamented that the Pensioners were being owed accumulated backlog of pension arrears for 32 months.
He explained that in 2014, they were owed 4 months, 2015, 7 months and between 2017 and 2019; it was 2 months, 12 months and 7 months respectively which amounted to 32 months, adding that unpaid accumulated gratuity stood for 19 years.
Chief Emeka stated that there has been non harmonization of pensions from 1998-2010 regretting that the least paid pensioner in the State receives five hundred naira as a monthly pension.
The Secretary regretted that the pensioners have been dehumanized and subjected to unimaginable deaths, chronic sickness, stating that the group embarked on the State wide prayer summit/protest to inform Abians and the World on the inhuman treatment Abia Pensioners are facing since the year 1998 to 2019.
He hinted that the peaceful protest/prayer summit was billed for two days and prayed God to see them through as the move round the city to let the entire World know of what is happening around them.
