The Benue State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Michael Vember, has decried the plight of pensioners in the state, saying some state pensioners still earn as low as N4,000 monthly.
He wondered how retirees are expected to depend on such ridiculous amount in the midst of the high cost of living in the country
He however said the union had drawn the attention of the government to the matter even as he commended Governor Hyacinth Alia for consistently paying pensioners.
He said: “Where we have a small hiccup is with the payment of local government pensioners. For instance the state government has paid state pensioners up to December but the local government pensioners have not received their November pensioner and it is probably due to the Local Government Chairmen who may not be remitting the pension money on time.
“On the pension arrears, Governor Alia inherited 96 months’ arrears at the Local Government level and at the state level he inherited 42 months.
“And the amount we earn as pensioners varies, some are still earning N4,000 monthly which cannot buy anything in the present day Nigeria. But we have been discussing the issue with government officials and we are hoping that the Governor will give attention to the issue because life has not been easy for pensioners in the last one year when you consider the cost of living in the country today.”
