Five(5) Retirees Slump Protesting 5 Months Pension Arrears

Five retirees slumped and were hospitalised on Tuesday in Imo during a protest over alleged non payment of five months arrears of their pension by the state government.

The incident occurred at the protest scene around the Government House roundabout in Owerri.

One of the retirees, who slumped but was revived, Mrs Margret Onuoha, a Grade Level 14 state civil service retiree, claimed that her late husband, Mr Eugene Onuoha, also a retiree, died in the struggle in 2016 and was never paid till date.

Onuoha said her heath condition had worsened in the last five months that she has not received her pension.

The the protest, was led by the state chairman of Imo Pensioners Intervention Committee, Mr Iyke Ohaneje.

Speaking on the protest, Ohaneje noted that the protest was about the third the pensioners had embarked upon and accused the state government of ignoring the plight of the retirees.

“Government is owing us a total of 45 months pension arrears, but we are asking it to pay us five months arrears accumulated since March 2020,” he said.

The chairman said they embarked on the protest because the state government had alleged that they were ghost pensioners.