By Emmanuel Ayungbe

DESPITE receiving N14.5 billion Paris Club refund from the federal government, Akwa Ibom State government owes retired civil servant over five years pensions and gratuities. Vanguard learned that Governor Udom Emmanuel on assumption of office in 2015 paid backlog of 10 years Local and state government workers pensions and gratuities accumulated between 2000 and 2011.

A retired civil servant and clan Head of Offot Ukwa clan, His Royal Highness, Etebom Sylvanus Effiong Okon, while appealing to the state government to have compassion on the retirees and settle their retirement benefits,  lamented that so many of his colleagues have died without enjoying their benefits.

Explaining his plight, Etebom Okon, said he was finding it difficult to feed even  after 35 years of meritorious service to the state, “I am suffering even as a clan head. I wonder how my other pensioners who have to come from places like Ikot Abasi to queue for hours for one form of documentation or another. So many of us have died out of frustration.”

Vanguard gathered that for over five years the state government has not paid outstanding pension and gratuities to retirees. A pensioner who confided in Vanguard said, ” at the end of the month, we are paid our pension but in arrears. You can be paid this month but payment represents your May 2013 pension.” Mrs. Arit Effiong, a pensioner said, “some of us are owed two months while some others are owed four years. It depends on when you retired.”

However, in one of the state executive council meetings in 2015 presided by Governor Emmanuel in government House Uyo, the state government had insisted that eligible pensioner must submit their Bank Verification Number, BVN at various sub treasury offices as a guarantee for payment  of their entitlements.

The Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, in February this year, urged the state government to acknowledge the pains of retirees and clear arrears of pensions and gratuities which now stands at N2.08 billion. The House Ad hoc committee on non-payment of pensions and gratuities, headed by Hon Udo Akpan, had also made recommendation to the House to prevail on the state government to settle all outstanding payment of 7.5percent  contributory pension scheme, CPS, to public servants who contributed to the scheme.

A source at Local Government Pension Board, LGPB, Idongesit Nkagha secretariat ,Uyo, told vanguard that the Paris Club refund of N14.5 billon to the state government cannot settle outstanding gratuities and pensions owed retirees in the state. “Payment of gratuities and pensions to retiring civil servants is most problematic. On daily basis people retire from the service after the mandatory 35 years of age and the government has to pay huge gratuities before commencement of monthly pensions . In a year over 200 staff of either state, civil and public servants in the state retires leaving behind retirement entitlement which budgetary allocation cannot accommodate.” The source added.

It will be recalled that when the state government got N14.5 billon Paris Club bail out fund from the Federal government for payment of outstanding workers wage bills in states, Governor Emmanuel wrote to the speaker of the state assembly, Oniofiok Luke to include the Paris Club refunds in this year’s budget.

At budget office, Uyo,Vanguard gathered that the state government owes retirees over N5 billon.   The source added that 46.9 percent of 2017 budget has been set aside to service debts, administrative charges, overheads ,payment of salaries ,pensions and gratuities.

A senior staff in the state pension board who preferred anonymity said,”Consolidated revenue fund charges including pensions and gratuities and public debt have allocation of N82.870 billon in this year’s budget.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/07/akwa-ibom-pensioners-decry-unpaid-five-years-benefits/

Front Page: Mynd44 Lalasticlala

Dude this is insane why did these morans put themselves in budgetary apocalypse. They have hard time paying workers in present and owe huge sums of money in past. The third tranche of refund has been released at N10 billion and the state has yet to say what they are doing with money.

If it is Aregbesola, this thread go don reach page 777

As sympathetic as one might feel towards these pensioners complaining about payment arrears, the harsh reality is that the vast majority of states have such huge pension and salary obligations that they have essentially no room left over for capital projects or meaningful development initiatives. It might shock a lot of Nigerians to hear this, but the primary purpose of governments should not be the payment of civil servant salaries and pensions.

The worst thing about the excessively large public sector at all levels of Nigerian government is that even when new governors come in hoping to do better than their predecessors, relentless pressure on them to cater to the demands of the vast numbers of retired civil servants they had no hand in hiring means that all their good intentions come to naught - that, or they can try to plow ahead with new projects while putting up with endless complaints about salary and pension arrears (e.g. Aregbesola).

I know I sound like a broken drum at this point, but only when federal allocations are brought to an end, and FG bailouts of bankrupt states are prohibited, will the pressure be sufficient to drive all of the existing states to realize they have to get serious about funding their activities through taxation. It is at that point that Nigerians will start to sit up and think hard about whether they really want civil service salaries and pensions soaking up the majority of the taxes they are paying, or whether they couldn't make do with far smaller and much more efficient public sectors (and even whether it even makes sense for so many non-viable states to exist instead of being merged with their neighbors).

OAUTemitayo:
If it is Aregbesola, this thread go don reach page 777

It's probably because because this Article is long and most nairalanders don't have the attention span to read through it. Others arent savy enough to usetext reader app. Tag Lala and he might make it front page if it's cool topic.

I thought is prisoners

Blue3k:


It's probably because because this Article is long and most nairalanders don't have the attention span to read through it. Others arent savy enough to usetext reader app. Tag Lala and he might make it front page if it's cool topic.

Lalasticlala
They always find it easy to lampoon Aregbesola.

As sympathetic as one might feel towards these pensioners complaining about payment arrears, the harsh reality is that the vast majority of states have such huge pension and salary obligations that they have essentially no room left over for capital projects or meaningful development initiatives. It might shock a lot of Nigerians to hear this, but the primary purpose of governments should not be the payment of civil servant salaries and pensions.

Yeah its insane the stories I read and lack of services the state provides. All they have is a massive work force yet you hardly notice their work in life. You see people in Delta oil communities crying out to Shell and Federal Government to provide basic amenities like roads water and electricity. What exactly is the state and local responsibility.