The organized labor has praised Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for giving retired civil servants their two months’ worth of pension payments promptly.
Following the submission of the report of the committee formed by the government for this purpose, one of the two months of unpaid pension arrears was included in the payment.
A seven-person committee headed by Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, Secretary to the State Government, was established earlier in August at the request of Governor Peter Mbah. The committee had been given two weeks to produce its report.
The organized labor described Mbah as a governor who keeps his word and can be trusted in a statement released on Friday and co-signed by the state chairsmen of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrades Barr. Fabian Nwigbo and Comrade Benneth Asogwa, respectively.
The organized labor thanked the governor for his administration’s sensitivity to the needs of the populace, particularly workers and retirees, and claimed that the pensions would significantly lessen the hardships brought on by the federal government’s removal of the fuel subsidy.
According to the labor unions, the governor’s rapid payment of two months’ worth of pensions gave them hope that the remaining one month’s worth of pensions and gratuities would soon start to be paid.
The statement reads in parts:
“We wish to convey to Governor Peter Mbah the joy of these retirees that is reverberating among the populace.
“This laudable action is in tandem with his passion and avowal to alleviate poverty and suffering among the citizens, especially the vulnerable which the pensioners represent.
“It is pertinent to inform the Governor that these retirees, in their joyful mood, are focusing their attention on the day when the payment of gratuities will commence as all his promises to the citizens are being transformed into reality”.