Delta State Pensioners restate accusation of SSG as being complicit to deductions of their gratuities

By Oharo Amakata

Retirees/Pensioners in Delta State have restated its accusation of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr Kingsley Emu for being complicit in the humungous deductions of money from their gratuities and described Emu’s denial of involvement as comical.

This was contained in a Communiqué issued at the end of a joint meeting of the pensioners on the platforms of Forum of Local Government Retirees (FOLGR) and Association of Retired Primary School Teachers (ARPST) held yesterday, Thursday, November 7, 2024 in Ughelli.

The Communique was signed by Pastor Daniel Onasimoni, Prince Gordon Etuwede, Builder Ekeleni Godwin and Comrade John Egie ( Chairmen and Secretaries of FOLGR and ARPST respectively.

The Communique said the attention of the pensioners was drawn to remarks credited to the Secretary to the Delta State Government, Dr Kingsley Emu as published by an online newspaper, Ndokwa Vanguard, who in an attempt to extricate himself from complicity in the controversy surrounding the payment and audacious fraudulent deductions of humungous amount of money from the gratuities of pensioners in Delta State said he had no connection to the allegation.

“Dr Emu’s denial of involvement in the plot to fraudulently carry out the deductions is comical in the face of a conspiracy theory in public glare.

“We point accusing finger directly at the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr Kingsley Emu for being complicit in the gang up led by immediate past ALGON Chairman, Hon Victor Ebonka to shortchange us.

“We consider Kingsley Emu as the arrow head of a group of political actors all linked by ethnic bond who in connivance with some professionals played key roles to execute their mentor’s vendetta on retirees for crying out loud to oppression.

“This was the message leaders of groups representing retirees/pensioners in Delta State echoed during a talk show aired by KPOKO FM radio, Warri recently.

“But for Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, we believe we would all have been dead, and for the governor’s intervention we remain grateful and thankful.”

And here is the trigger; the retirees laid a curse on immediate past governor of Delta State, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa that he would fail in his vice presidential ambition if he continued to withhold their gratuities. Okowa did not budge, and after all efforts and political maneuvering, Okowa failed.

In vengeance, after Governor Sheriff Oborevwori came to the rescue, Okowa mentees led by Dr Kingsley Emu conspired to punish the retirees and hatched the plot of deductions from their gratuities. And they did, concomitantly to sabotage and discredit the goodwill of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.

Background to the story

It must be recalled that the payment of gratuities to retired workers of local governments and public primary school teachers in Delta state had seamlessly flowed until Dr Ifeanyi Okowa took reins as Governor of Delta State and thereon, since June 1, 2015, retirees in the State were nolonger at ease.

Agitations by the retirees protesting nonpayment of overdue gratuities were marked by series of demonstrations embarked by the senior citizens in the streets of Asaba and under the scorching sun or the downpour of rains. Dr Ifeanyi Okowa remained adamant and indifferent to the plight of the retirees throughout until he left office in 2023.

At that time, the sitting governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori was the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly and can testify to the agitations because the Delta State House of Assembly Complex Gate was the ground of one of the protests and official representatives from his office addressed the protesters and took written complaints of the retirees to him. But since he was not the governor, he could do nothing.

When the time of campaign for the 2023 election year came the retires pressed on with the agitations and Governor Sheriff being the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) pledged to pay off the backlog of debts owed the retirees if he won the election. The PDP won and the senior citizens became hopeful.

By August 2023, two months after Governor Sheriff Oborevwori took office he showed interest in the retirees’ plight and seeking ways to resolve the problem used the instrumentality of State to guarantee a N40 billion loan to ALGON to commence payment of the gratuities of the State retirees. Recall that before this time retirees’ death toll hiked for lack of money to take care of their feeding and health challenges.

Slow pace payment of the gratuities had run up till June 2016 for retired primary school teachers and October 2019 for local government retirees and they knew the figures to expect when the payment would commence for July 2016 and November 2019 as at August 2023, seven solid years after retirement. Plans were made by the supposed beneficiaries most of who were yet to own or complete their homes before retirement.

The August date seemed not to be feasible and rumours started making the round that state government was up to something funny. Leadership of the retirees’ groups put pressure on the government and in the process learnt that the delay was because government was carrying out a screening process to weed out ghost retirees from the beneficiaries list. It was later learnt that the proposed screening exercise was a mere ploy by the government agents to slash the gratuities to the tune of between N2million and N8million from the gratuities of each retiree before commencing the payment and therefore the senior citizens, once more, geared towards embarking on 12th protest march in the streets of Asaba to sensitize the public to the evil design.

Investigation had earlier revealed that the Bureau of Local Government Pensions was set with records and prepared the normal payment voucher according to B.A. Adigun’s Template as soon as the governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori stepped into the matter and guaranteed the N4Obillion loan. But they were later ordered to jettison that template until a new one was concocted from SSG’s Office.

Emu’s involvement and bully

To avoid the peaceful protest planned by the retirees the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Kingsley Emu on Friday, September 1, 2023 convened a meeting of stakeholders including leaders of the retirees’ groups, officials of Bureau of Local Government Pensions, and the Auditor General (LG), ALGON, and labour leaders at his office in Asaba.

Also present at the meeting was the Consultant engaged by ALGON that produced a new payment template for the payment of gratuities.

During the meeting Dr Kingsley Emu sufficiently bullied and intimidated the senior citizens and called the bluff on them to accept what they would be given saying the retirees resort to protest had no negative impact on the government and that they could go to hell for all he cared if they do not cooperate with the new arrangement on ground.

After raining insults on the senior citizens Dr Kingsley Emu stormed out of the meeting believing he had bullied and intimidated the retirees to submission.

Leaders of the retires’ groups argued frantically on the need to remain steadfast to the B.A. Adigun’s payment template which had ran since 2011 when the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) began. When it became obvious that ALGON and the state government officials had made up their mind on the illegal deductions, a representative of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) from Abuja advised the retirees to take whatever they were given and fight on later for the difference.

When eventually the payment commenced in December 2023, the retirees were disappointed as their take home fell short of between N2million and N8million.

Again, it must be recalled that the level of indebtedness of the State Government regarding the payment of gratuities up to Year 2020 stood at N56billion and when Governor Sheriff Oborevwori stepped in to settle the debt, ALGON through Hon Victor Ebonka said they could sort it out with N40billion. And you know what, they did not only mislead the governor but went ahead to use that insufficient fund to pay for up to March 2023; settled over N56billion debt with N40billion, and therefore reason for the variation of the gratuities paid and the decline of the sum as the payment progressed to 2023 is not farfetched.

This is the ugly situation that prompted the retirees to go to press and tell the public of the reality on ground since politicians were already counting the payment of gratuities as one of the laudable achievements of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori who indeed meant to give a bigger pie to the senior citizens than they received.

PRAYER

The prayer of the pensioners remain the same; a passionate appeal to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to in his natural goodness and supportive hand to the downtrodden among the masses that earned him the sobriquet of “Street Credibility”, cast another gaze on the plight of the pensioners and cause the authorities concerned to revert to the B.A. Adigun Template and ensure the refund of the deductions made by ALGON and its co-conspirators, so that the goodwill of the governor will ultimately not be brought to disrepute. They say they will continue to cry until they are heard as that is not too much to ask.