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By Madu Obi
Pensioners, who retired from the Local Government Service of Anambra State from 2015 to 2019, on Thursday, held a prayer session to mourn four of their colleagues who allegedly died as a result of their unpaid benefits.
The prayer session was to seek God’s grace to avert more deaths and to survive what they described as the inhuman oppression and intimidation meted out to them by the state government officials who they claimed, are responsible for non payment of their gratuities totalling N850 million.
At the prayer session in Awka, the chairman of the group, Comrade Raphael Okoye said the four people died because they could not afford to pay their medical bills.
Carrying placards with various inscriptions, they called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to come to their rescue, informing him that there are people in government undermining his administration by deliberately sitting on their pensions and gratuities from 2015 to date.
Okoye alleged that key officials of the state Ministry of Local Government and the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee, have deliberately refused to pay the health pensioners their arrears of entitlement despite court judgement on the matter.
A document made available to reporters read: "The consent judgment ordered the payment of the health pensioners' accumulated arrears in four installments starting from May 2023 and ending in August 2023."
"At four instalments, this will translate to a monthly payment of N221, 240, 395.12. Section 5(2) of the Anambra State JAAC Amendment Law 2014 provides that not more than 10% of the monthly statutory allocations of local governments shall be set aside as first line charge to pay any accumulated pension or gratuity."
The monthly statutory allocations received by JAAC from May 2023 when the consent judgment order was delivered by the Industrial Court, range from N5 – N6 billion.
Ten percent of this allocation translates to about N500 – 600 million per month; which can pay off in just two months, the N884 961 580.47 owed the health pensioners.
Even 5% of monthly statutory allocation received by JAAC can pay off in four months, all the entitlements owed the health pensioners.
The affected health pensioners have therefore resolved to embark on special prayer sessions to seek the grace of God to sustain and preserve them through this ordeal, so that they will live to secure the payment of their entitlement.
" We therefore seek the support of Anambra people of join us in prayers, whether in the homeland or in the Diaspora."
"To this end, the 3rd Sunday of every month has been earmarked as special prayer Sundays for local government health pensioners of Anambra State in all churches, until their entitlements are paid in full."
"Accordingly, all Bishops, Rev. Fathers, Reverends, Pastors, Evangelists and Prophets, are enjoined to assist the oppressed health pensioners by observing this special prayer sessions in their parishes and churches until the health pensioners are paid their entitlements in full".
The pensioners also recalled that the state Local Government Service Commission, through a letter no: ANS/LGSC/S.34/VOL.XXXIII/T/20 dated 09/09/2020, approved the payment of the said entitlement to the health pensioners.
They added: "The Auditor-General for Local Government has also vetted and endorsed the payment ofthe entitlements.
The current Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Grace Ifemeje, also issued a legal advice (vide letter no. MJ/S03/VOL,IV/11 dated 28th Juky, 2022) to the Commissioner for Local Government and the Local Government Service Commission that the health pensioners are entitled to payment of the said 60% CONHESS.
"As a follow-up, the Attorney-General had, in conjunction with counsel representing both parties in the dispute, signed a mutual terms of settlement (vide letter no: NICN/AWK/33/2021 dated 16th May 2023), which the Honourable Judge of the National Industrial Court, Awka entered as Consent Judgment Order on May 17, 2023 vide letter no.NICN/AWK/33/2021 dated 17 May, 2023".
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