Unpaid Gratuities: Rivers Pensioners Storm Secretariat Complex

Hundreds of retired workers of Rivers State Government on Wednesday stormed the state secretariat complex in Port Harcourt to demand the full settlement of their gratuities from 2012 to 2024.
The retirees who carried placards and attracted attention to their plight were organized under the umbrella of Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP).
They eventually met the Director-General of the state Pensions Board, Mr. Samuel Ijeoma, who told them that the present government was working hard to clear all the backlog of gratuities it inherited from the previous two administrations.
The director-general however said that all backlog would not be cleared at once because of the heavy cost implications. “You are aware that it will not be easy to clear what was accumulated over the past 16 years. The new administration is working on it. And you know that the governor has already cleared the ones he met as he assumed office.
“I will assure you that something is being done and there are also prospects of improving the amount due you,” he said.
Spokesmen for the retirees, Comrades Isaac Urang and Charles Nwuju, had presented the case of the retirees to the director-general and lamented the sufferings they were passing through as they awaited the settlement of their gratuities. They said many of their members had passed on without enjoying the fruits of the long years of service they put into the service of the state.