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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The Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr. Monday Agbonika, has vowed to hunt down and bring to justice those behind the killing of eight NSCDC operatives in the State.
Agbonika gave the assurance on Tuesday during an on-the-spot assessment of the attack scene, which also involved the abduction of a Chinese national.
Describing the incident as “a dastardly act that will not go unpunished”, the Commissioner expressed condolences to the Edo State Command of the NSCDC.
He paid tribute to the fallen operatives, describing them as “gallant personnel who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.”
“We stand in solidarity with the NSCDC in this grief. Their sacrifice will not be in vain, and Edo people should expect justice”, Agbonika said.
In a separate meeting with Chinese community members at BUA Cement, Okpella, the police chief assured that efforts were ongoing to rescue the abducted expatriate alive.
“Our men are on the ground, and operations have been intensified. We are determined to rescue the kidnapped victim and prevent further incidents in the area”, he said.
Agbonika appealed for calm among residents, urging cooperation through timely and credible intelligence to aid ongoing security operations.
“Security is a collective responsibility. We call on residents to support us with information. Together, we will defeat criminals threatening Edo’s peace”, he added.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and properties, stressing that it would not relent until the attackers were arrested and justice delivered.
The Tide’s source reports that the Okpella attack occurred on Friday.
The Police Command in Delta State has arrested a suspected female illicit drugs dealer in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s Spokesman, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Warri on Wednesday.
Edafe said the suspect was nabbed alongside her three apprentices on August 29 by the police operatives attached to the Ughelli Area Command.
He said the operatives carried out the raid following credible information on the activities of some individuals that indulged in the sale of illicit drugs within Afisere/Ughelli town.
“The operatives trailed and arrested a drug baron who operates a chemist store in Afisere Community alongside three of her apprentices.
“The suspect led the operatives to her house at Afisere and a search warrant was executed.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspects included: 355 bottles of CSC codeine, 57 rolls of 50MG tramadol capsules, 335 rolls of 100mg tramadol capsules.
“Others were: 33 rolls of 200mg super royal, seven backwoods, 540 sachets of swinol capsules and 16 cups of Canadian liquid cannabis”, he said.
The police spokesman said investigation further revealed that the suspect was a major dealer in illicit drugs in Ughelli and its environs.
Edafe added that investigation in the matter was ongoing.
The Cross River State House of Assembly has extended the suspension of the Bekwarra Council Chairman, Ms. Theresa Ushie, to 90 days.
Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Elvert Ayambem, made the remark on Wednesday during plenary.
The Tide’s source recalls that Ushie was suspended on June 10 for three months on allegations of corruption, misconduct and abuse of power.
The suspension followed a petition from the Bekwarra Local Government Legislative Council, signed by eight of its members, who also attempted to impeach her.
Ayambem explained that the extension was to allow the House Committee on Judiciary, Public Service Matters, Public Petitions and Conflict Resolution more time to investigate the petition written against the chairman by the Bekwarra Legislature.
The House had earlier deliberated on a motion calling for the extension of the office of the LGA Acting Chairman, Mr. Egbung Obama, before agreeing to extend Ushie’s suspension.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Investigative Committee and member, representing Abi State Constituency, Mr. Davies Etta, said the committee needed more time to carry out a thorough investigation.
Ushie was elected as Bekwarra Local Government Council Chairman and sworn-in in November 2024.
