Over 250 retirees from the 17 local government areas of Plateau State yesterday took their protest to the state House of Assembly over the non-payment of their entitlements including gratuities and pension from October 2011 to date.

The retirees, who turned up for the protest in black, lamented that every appeal made over the years to relevant authorities had fallen on deaf ears.

Speaking with journalists at the House of Assembly complex, the Coordinator of the retirees, Mamman Zi, said that government has been giving them flimsy excuses why they have not been paid.

Approximately 250 retirees from the 17 local government areas of Plateau State yesterday took their protest to the state House of Assembly over the non-payment of their entitlements including gratuities and pension from October 2011 to date.

The retirees, who turned up for the protest in black, lamented that every appeal made over the years to relevant authorities had fallen on deaf ears.

Speaking with journalists at the House of Assembly complex, the Coordinator of the retirees, Mamman Zi, said that government has been giving them flimsy excuses why they have not been paid.

He said, “The excuses put forward by government is baseless; we have undergone the bio-metric capturing of retirees and concluded the process. Our files are with the Local Government Service Commission, yet nothing has been done.

“We are appealing and will continue to appeal to government to have mercy and pay us our entitlements. Some of us are sick, some have died; we have nothing or on one to fall back on. We need our sweats to be given to us.”

Addressing the protesting retirees, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Titus Alams, said he understood the plight of the retirees. He advised them to remain calm and engage in further dialogue to find out why the delay has taken this long.

However, every effort to speak with the Head of the Local Government Service Commission, Mrs. Susan Janfa, was unsuccessful as she was not on seat and the Permanent Secretary, Fabian Mpu, declined comment on the issue.

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LG retirees in Plateau decry non-payment of benefits for 3 years