By Jon Egie
The protest scheduled to hold tomorrow, Thursday, October 5 by members of Association of Contributory Retirees, ACR (local government and primary school) to the Government House, Asaba in continuation of agitation for the payment of their gratuities and pensions has been placed on hold.
A statement issued by the Chairperson of ACR (Primary) Chief Mrs Ejieh Helen Chionye, said the decision to put off the protest was based on the outcome of a meeting held between leadership of the ACR, ALGON, Labour leaders and other stakeholders at the instance of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr Kingsley Emu, at the SSG’s Office, Asaba yesterday, Tuesday, October 3.
According to the statement, ALGON and the State government have given assurance of fairness in the computation of the gratuities of the retirees. The statement added that the fear of drastic reduction of the take home of the retirees by the implementation of a fresh template introduced by ALGON has been allayed and having been convinced of sincerity on the part of government through the Auditor General of the State and respect for the State Governor, His Excellency, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori and the solid assurance given by ALGON Chairman, Hon Victor Ebonka that payment of the gratuities would commence on Friday, October 6, 2023 ; they resolved to place the planned protest on hold for the next seven (7) days when evidence of payment would be tangible.
ACR expressed gratitude to members of the public for their sympathy and moral support while the struggle lasted. They commiserated with families of their colleagues who passed on in the course of the struggle and asked God for good health for the living to enjoy the fruits of their labour.