Business
NIPOST Pensioners’ Protest Enters Second Week
Protest by pensioners of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) nationwide enters its second week on January 3, 2013 as offices of the organisation across the country remain under lock and key.
The Public Relations Officer of NIPOST, Port Harcourt Headquarters, Mr Godwin Akpan, said the pensioners were insisting on the payment of their 14 months arrears.
Unconfirmed report also has it that some of the protesters are pushing for 52 months payment which the Federal Government allegedly owed them.
It would be recalled that the National Union of Pensioners (NUP), NIPOST branch commenced protest last week Thursday, December 27, 2012 as a result of unpaid pension arrears and gratuity owed them by the Federal Government.
Port Harcourt territorial branch of the union had sometime last week issued notice to its management in Port Harcourt of its intention to seal off the Port Harcourt offices last Friday.
When The Tide visited the Station Road office of NIPOST in Port Harcourt yesterday, pensioners had taken over the place, thereby preventing workers access to their respective offices.
The State Vice Chairman of the union, Mr Inia Akunaye, told our reporters that the directive came from its headquarters in Abuja, saying that about 38 offices of the NIPOST nationwide were involved in the action.
Akunaye, said that at the meeting between the national executives, of the union and the Postmaster General, Malam Ibrahim Mori Baba, few days to last Christmas, members were promised payment of two months out of the 14 months to enable them mark the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“Unfortunately, the man was not ready to pay anything, in other words, we see him as a chameleon” he said.
The NUP, NIPOST, Port Harcourt branch boss affirmed that all its offices in the state were still under lock and key pending a contrary order from its leadership in Abuja.
He regretted that retirees and senior citizens in the country were not respected by constituted authorities as it was done globally, adding that they used their youthful days to work for the nation.
The tenants of the NIPOST in Port Harcourt were not also spared as few of them were seen pleading with the protesting pensioners to help and re-open the offices, so that they could enter and collect some of their personal belongings and documents.
Chris Oluoh