Nigeria: Cross River retirees demand payment of outstanding pension gratuities
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria
Retirees in Cross River State have appealed to the state government to address the disparity in pension payments and settle their outstanding gratuities, saying some pensioners receive as little as N4,000 monthly.
The appeal was made by the Cross River State Chairman of the National Association of Retirees of State Government of Nigeria (NARSGON), Daniel Bassey Effiom, in a message to the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Christopher Etta.
Effiom urged Etta to intervene and appeal to Governor Bassey Otu to release the outstanding gratuities owed to retirees and address the wide differences in pension payments across the state.
According to him, some retirees currently receive monthly pensions of N4,000, N5,000 and N6,000, amounts he said were insufficient to meet basic living expenses.
“Our members are really suffering in Cross River State. Some are earning N4,000, N5,000, N6,000, etc., as monthly pensions.
“What can such monies do for a living human being? There’s so much hunger and sickness. And many are dying undeserved deaths every day,” he said.
Effiom further claimed that some retirees had died after struggling to afford medication and other basic necessities, while others were still waiting for their outstanding entitlements.
He appealed to the authorities to treat the issue as urgent, stressing that retirees should not be regarded as “spent forces” because they still had valuable experience and remained relevant to the development of the state.
The NARSGON chairman said he decided to approach the APC chairman after unsuccessful attempts to reach him by phone, expressing hope that Etta would draw the governor’s attention to the pensioners’ concerns.
He also pointed out that retirees make up a significant voting population in the state and have families and dependants whose interests could influence political decisions.
Meanwhile, Governor Otu has assured retirees that his administration is working towards releasing another tranche of gratuity payments before December 2026.
The governor gave the assurance while receiving a delegation of elders led by retired Colonel Pam Ogar, a former military administrator of Kwara State.
Otu acknowledged the contributions of the elders to the development of Cross River and said his administration remained concerned about the challenges facing retirees.
He said the government was committed to gradually clearing the backlog of outstanding benefits owed to pensioners.
The governor also described the experience and knowledge of the state’s elders as valuable resources that could help guide the present generation in building Cross River State.
