New Telegraph

Again, Rivers’ pensioners protest unpaid entitlements, beg Wike

Retired civil servants from Rivers State public service yesterday staged another protest over unpaid arrears and gratuities several years after they left the service, pleading with the state Governor, Nyesom Wike to come to the aid by authorising the payment of the gratuity and pension arrears. The protesters, mostly senior citizens, who carried placards, however, claimed that some of them retired over a decade ago, but have not received their entitlements despite a series of efforts to make the state government take action.

The protesters, who said they wore black clothes to symbolise the “death and non-appreciation” of service to the state, noted that some of their colleagues had died while waiting for the state to give them their dues after serving the state meritoriously, adding that they live in “absolute poverty” and depend on other people’s goodwill for survival.

The inscriptions on the placards read: “We served our state with everything; recognise our contributions”, “Governor Wike do the right thing and shame the devil,” “We served for 35 years, why treating is this way?”, “Many are dead,” “One year after, where is the Tripartite Report,” among others. The protest, however, took a dramatic turn at the NIPOST Bus Stop close to the Government House, Port Harcourt, the state capital, when a team of policemen, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Friday Eboka appealed to the pensioners to return to their respective homes, noting that their endurance all these years would not be in vain.

Read Previous

DSS files terrorism charges against two of Igboho’s aides

Read Next

Alcohol-free wine also good for the heart

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *