By: Emmanuel Abi Couson
Pensioners in River state have appealed to Governor Siminalayi Fubara to include them in the N100, 000 promised civil servants in the state this Christmas, pointing out that food inflation ravaging the country was also having a telling effect on them .
Just asthe Governor assured civil servants in the state of more incentives that would better their lives.
Speaking with the media on Friday in Port Harcourt, National Union of Pensioners (NUP) Executive Members decried some of the challenges faced by pensioners in the state.
The state chairman of NUP, Mr. Collins Nwankwo and Secretary, Dr. Joseph Agbo, lamented that pensioners were unable to access quality health services, buy drugs and food, because their pension was insufficient to address the needs.
They appealed to the governor to graciously consider their plight and include pensioners of the state for the payment of the recently approved N100, 000.00 each to Civil Servant.
According to them, pensioners’ face so many challenges especially as regards to the cost of drugs saying “we the Executive Members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Rivers State Council congratulate Your Excellency, the Governor for the Christmas bonus of N100, 000.00 to each civil servant in Rivers State, we say, thank you.
“We, the Executive of the NUP plead with you to also graciously consider the plight of Pensioners of this State. The cost of living is very high and we buy from same market.
“The Pensioners problems are very pathetic, more especially the cost of drugs. Based on this, may we therefore appeal to you to consider payment of the Christmas bonus of N100, 000.00 to each Pensioner, as what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.”
In a related development the governor said more goodies and incentives await the civil servants in the state.
Fubara, made the commitment when he received thousands of jubilant civil servants who stormed the Government House gate, Port Harcourt with their leadership and some members of the organised labour on a solidarity march.
The governor said the friendly leadership of organised labour in the state engenders mutual cooperation, assured that his administration is committed to do more for workers beyond implementing promotions and Christmas bonus.
Represented by the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, Fubara said the N100,000.00 given as Christmas bonus to each civil servant is unprecedented and far exceed monthly salary of some workers.
He explained that the gesture represented the commitment of the administration to make workers know that they are important partners and must be properly appreciated while motivating them to be more productive.
“Within this few months of the governor being in office, promotion has been made and reflected in salary, rehabilitation work has been done at the State Secretariat Complex to provide a good working environment for workers.
“All these are possible because the leadership of labour in Rivers State is friendly. They have been supportive of every government activity.”
However, in a joint statement signed by the Rivers State chairman of the joint negotiation council, Chuku Emecheta, State Chairperson of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ikechukwu Onyefuru, the Rivers State Chairperson of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Alex Agwanwor, said the current political crisis poses potential threats to stability, and good governance as being provided by Fubara.
Agwanwor also said that the “organised labour wishes to appreciate Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for his magnanimity in the recent promotions, including the payment of a record breaking N100,000 Christmas bonus set by the administration of Dr. Peter Odili that gave civil servants N20,000 during his administration.”
