Retirees assure Omo-Agege over 50,000 votes on March 11

By Jon Egie

Retirees in Delta State have promised to mobilize over 50,000 votes for Deputy Senate President and Delta APC Governorship candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege in the March 11, Governorship election.

The retirees made the promise during a Townhall meeting between delegates of the Association of Contributory Retirees (ACR) and Senator Omo-Agege held at the Opute Hall, Ozoro, Tuesday, February 7.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairperson of the retirees, Chief Mrs Helen Ejieh said the association which represents over 5,000 retirees in the State was formed to resist the wickedness of Governor Okowa who deliberately refused to pay gratuities as soon as he became governor in 2015.

Following thier struggle through several protests Governor Okowa in 2017, started to release N150 million monthly and as that went no where, they continued the struggle and he, Okowa reluctantly increased it to N300 million in 2019.

“Among Governorship candidates in Delta State, it is only you that has our interest at heart and speak about our cause and we believe that it is only you that can solve our problem. Okowa has a heart that is at the back of his body, no matter how much we cry he will not listen. Okowa wants us dead but we don’t want to die. We believe in you as the only one God has sent to help us.

“I can vote, all my children at the age of voting will vote, our grandchildren will vote, my husband will vote, my husband’s relatives who are angry with the wickedness of Okowa will vote. We have a large number, they have their personal voter’s card (PVC) and all these people will vote for you.”

Senator Omo-Agege making commitment to the retirees during the meeting

Responding, Senator Omo-Agege paid respect to the senior citizens saying he was elated and sad at their predicament.

“I am elated because I have the opportunity to interact with our retirees who have suffered so much in the hands of Governor Okowa and because you responded to the invitation to meet with you. But in all, I am very sad why this kind of wickedness will be visited on our family members, senior citizens of Delta State. There is no homestead in Delta State where there is no retiree. The challenges you face knows no religion or ethnicity. Most painful part of it is, you are not asking for hand-outs, it is your entitlements. While in service the State government entered a social contract with you that while you were serving X amount of money will be deducted from your salaries with the assurance that the day you retire, this money along with the counterpart will be given to you as gratuities and pensions. We received very reliable information that the deductions were paid to a dedicated account which nobody ought to have access to. But that is the money Okowa dipped his hands into to sponsor Atiku/Okowa presidential ambition.

He said Delta State is very rich and for the past seven and a half years, Governor Okowa has received over 4.2 trillion naira in revenue flows and yet the governor went into a borrowing spree.

“As we speak Governor Okowa has borrowed over 800 billion naira according to Debt Management Office, DMO. It is not a crime for governments to borrow money but such borrowing should be tied to specific projects. If Governor Okowa has taken a loan of N50 billion to pay gratuities and pensions of retirees in Delta State nobody will query him. If he needed loan to complete the Ughelli/Asaba Road, and PTI/Eku/Abraka road, nobody will query him.

“Governor Okowa increased school fees of our tetiary institutions whereas he refused to pay gratuities to retirees and yet your children expect you to pay their school fees, how will you pay? Your graduate children are with you at home because there are no jobs, that is not a priority for Okowa. Look, our hospitals are in a state of disrepair and decay, and Okowa even though a medical doctor does not care.

“We receive information every day that we have lost a lot of you because of lack of money to eat and buy medicine and some right now are sick. I pray God keep all of you alive and God willing if I emerge governor, if you all come out, your children, grandchildren, all come out; it is going to be a mission for vengeance. We have to avenge this for the people of Delta State, and if I emerge and sworn in as governor of Delta State on May 29, I make a commitment to you, that within six months of my inauguration, all your outstanding gratuities and pensions I will pay.

“But do me one favour, stay alive for me. It will be a thing of joy that after six months, we will have another stakeholders meeting, and that we have not lost anybody, it is your smile I want to see and we will all rejoice.”

In an interview, a retiree, Chief Pius Ovbije aka POC who was a Director of finance with the State Primary Education Board and former Commissioner of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission, DESOPADEC, said he was disappointed with the behaviour and degree of wickedness exhibited by Governor Okowa.

“I wrongly assessed Governor Okowa to be a man of good heart but with what he is doing to retirees, I can see that he is really very wicked. His wife is a retiree but does he think that the comfort his wife is enjoying is the same comfort these people have? I feel the pains but what do we do? It is really very wicked of Okowa I must say.”