Niger Delta
Retirees Drags Cross River State Government To Industrial Court Over Non-Payment Of Gratuity
Top ranking retired civil servants in Cross River State, including permanent secretaries, have allegedly concluded arrangements to drag
the State government and the Accountant General to National Industrial Court in Calabar for refusing to pay them their gratuities since 2014.
Our correspondent gathered that some retirees have not been paid since 2014, the development which has prompted many of them to be embarking on peaceful protests occasionally to Governor’s office, but protests yielded no result.
It would be recalled that late last year, a twenty-six-year-old man, Mr. Joseph Odey, also staged a one-man protest with a placard, ‘Your Excellency please pay gratuity, my family is distressed,’ He had told newsmen that his late father put in 32 years of faithful service to the state and died as a school principal a few months before he was due for retirement.
On the planned litigation, a retired permanent secretary, who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, said the court case was the last option since all entreaties and protests have failed, submitting that they were waiting for their legal adviser and solicitor to commence action.
He also alleged that some staff in the Accountant General’s office were demanding gratification of about N200,000 to facilitate payment of gratuities.
But the Accountant General, Joseph Adie, in a chat, described as untrue the allegations that officers in charge of processing documents were asking each retiree to cough out a whooping N200,000 before such papers could be processed.
He said, “well, I want to assure Cross Riverians that nobody have told me that there is demand on pensioners to pay anything before they get paid. My office here is not aware of such demand.
“It is a grievous matter to ask a retirees and pensioners to begin to pay monies for their gratuities or whatever. It is an act of wickedness. In a situation like this, I must confess to you that I am not aware of that type of demand from anywhere, and I will be the last person to be a partaker. As we speak, we have cleared 2013,” he said.
Explaining what could have caused the delay in payment, Adie, a Chartered Accountant, said “the highest allocation that came to the State was N3 billion and that at times, the State would receive as paltry as N1.1 billion and N1 billion respectively”, but added that “even States with highest allocations were also finding it hard to pay as at when due.”
“I am sure you will be surprise that even those States that have the highest allocation owe pensions. Some of them are not even making effort to pay, but we have tried. We are paying, in fact at a point, we were setting aside N200million every month for payment of gratuities.
On why some persons who retired between 2016 and 2017 had gotten their gratuities paid while those in 2015 and 2016 were yet to be paid, the AG said it was an express order from the Governor of the State that some persons with critical health issues in that batch be paid.
“You know some people have health issues like spinal cord problem. Yes in cases like this, I get my special approval from the governor that such people be paid. They are only two on the line now but if he approves and there are no funds, we still have to pray but the truth is that such are considered as special cases,” he stressed.
From FRIDAY NWAGBARA, Calabar.
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Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, says his administration will continue to promote private sector investments in order to enhance economic prosperity.
Eno, who stated this recently at the inauguration of a new Zenith Bank branch in Uyo, said private sector growth was critical to employment generation and the overall development of the State.
He said his long-standing business relationship with Zenith Bank exposed him to the critical roles that banks could play in supporting private sector growth.
“The bank played a laudable role in the growth of Royalty Hotels, a brand I pioneered and led until I joined public service.
“It is my hope that the bank will accord the same support to other private sector investments in the state, be it micro, small or medium-scale enterprise”, he said.
Earlier, the Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank PLC, Dr. Adaora Umeoji, described the new business office as a significant milestone in the life of the bank.
She thanked successful administrations in the state for their support to the bank over the years, saying, ”We thank the Governor for creating a conducive environment for business to thrive.
“We opened our first branch in Akwa Ibom about 25 years ago, we have enjoyed a very good relationship with the government and people of the state.
“Akwa Ibom stands out as a major business friendly state. The state is clean, accommodating, and fast developing, we commend the government for this”, she said.
The Zenith Bank chief reiterated the bank’s commitment to sustain its partnership with the government and people of Akwa Ibom in order to make mutually impactful and meaningful progress.
She urged business owners in the state, especially women, to leverage the initiatives being offered by the bank to grow their businesses.
The Delta Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening primary healthcare services across the state, dismissing claims that it was focusing more on visible infrastructure projects than grassroots healthcare delivery.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Onojaeme, made the clarification while reacting to comments by health influencer, Aproko Doctor.
Aproko Doctor recently suggested on social media that political leaders often prioritised flyovers and modern hospitals while neglecting primary healthcare centres.
Onojaeme said the claim did not reflect the situation in Delta, noting that healthcare remained a central pillar of the Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori administration’s development agenda.
According to him, although road projects and flyovers are visible across the state, deliberate investments have also been made in healthcare infrastructure and services.
He said that within two years, the state government had renovated 150 primary healthcare centres across the three senatorial districts out of the 441 public health facilities in the state.
According to him, another 150 centres are already undergoing planning and preparation for renovation.
“The effort will bring the number of upgraded primary healthcare centres to 300, thereby improving access to quality healthcare at the community level and reducing pressure on secondary and tertiary hospitals,” he said.
The commissioner said that the state’s free maternal and under-five healthcare programme continued to yield positive results, including reductions in maternal and infant mortality, while easing financial burdens on families.
“Gov. Oborevwori recently approved the release of N2 billion to sustain the programme, alongside regular funding to strengthen Universal Health Coverage in the state,” he said.
Onojaeme also said that state-owned hospitals were granted autonomy to retain and utilise their internally generated revenue, enabling them to procure drugs, maintain equipment and respond more efficiently to patient needs.
“In specialised healthcare delivery, dialysis machines have been installed in state hospitals, helping to reduce waiting time for treatment while lowering dialysis costs from about N70,000 to N45,000 per session,” he said.
He said that CT scan machines installed at Warri Central Hospital and Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH), Oghara, were already improving diagnosis of conditions such as stroke and internal injuries.
“While newly procured echocardiography machines are strengthening early detection of heart-related conditions.”
The commissioner said the government had ordered three Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines for installation at Asaba Specialist Hospital, Central Hospital Warri and DELSUTH, Oghara, ensuring coverage across the three senatorial districts.
“While some states do not have a single MRI machine, Delta State is procuring three at once, with delivery expected by April as site preparations are ongoing,” he said.
Onojaeme said the government was establishing a new College of Health Sciences in Ovrode, Isoko North Local Government Area, to complement the existing institution in Ofuoma and boost the training of middle-level health manpower.
“The long-abandoned Mother and Child Hospital in Ekpan was nearing completion, while another Specialist Hospital was being developed in Osubi, Okpe Local Government Area, modelled after the Asaba Specialist Hospital.
According to him, Delta remains the only state in the country with more than 60 functional government-owned hospitals, adding that the current administration is determined to further expand healthcare access.
On health insurance, Onojaeme said enrollment under the Delta State Contributory Health Scheme had surpassed 2.78 million residents as of January 2026, making it one of the leading state-supported health insurance programmes in the country.
He explained that the scheme covered both formal and informal sector workers, while prioritising vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, children under five and the elderly, through the Equity Health Plan.
The commissioner added that the scheme recently enrolled 10,000 widows and continues to register indigent residents across the state.
He also disclosed that the Delta State Contributory Health Commission had introduced facial recognition technology at accredited facilities to improve efficiency and transparency in service delivery.
Onojaeme reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage and delivering affordable and accessible healthcare services to residents across the state.
The Cross River State House of Assembly has urged the State Government to urgently enforce drug laws to curb the rising menace of substance abuse.
The resolution followed a matter of urgent public importance raised by Yakurr I lawmaker, Mr. Cyril Omini, during plenary in Calabar.
Omini cited a tragic incident in Ugep, Yakurr Local Government Area, involving a 23-year-old man allegedly under the influence of drugs.
He said the suspect, Ubi Bassey, allegedly beheaded his father, Bassey Okoi, on February 2.
“Drug abuse has become widespread among youths, with alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and tramadol commonly abused.
“In spite of warnings by health and government agencies, illicit drug trading and consumption persist across many communities”, Omini said.
According to him, the trend has led to early deaths and, in extreme cases, violent crimes against innocent persons.
Omini warned the incident had caused fear in Ugep, cautioning that failure to act decisively could worsen social decay.
He, however, commended the State Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Okoi Obono (rtd), for efforts to restore peace in the area.
Lawmakers called for sustained drug sensitisation, youth-focused campaigns, stronger partnerships with non-governmental organisations, and stricter enforcement against drug peddlers and users.
The Speaker, Elvert Ayambem, expressed sadness over the incident and urged prompt prosecution of the suspect to deter other youths.
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