Imo Assures Pensioners Of Prompt Payment

Governor Rochas Okorocha has promised pensioners in Imo State easy access to their pay cheques through executive secretaries in the communities.

Okorocha announced the arrangement during a meeting with the pensioners in Owerri on Thursday.

He said the executive secretaries would be appointed from the state civil service to act as administrators in the rural communities.

He said the old method of collecting pension cheques from traditional rulers would no longer apply once the new method was instituted.

The governor said the innovation was informed by the massive fraud in the ministry of finance where pension payments were made to deceased pensioners.

According to him, the new method of payment will help to curb the trend as the beneficiaries will be identified by the executive secretaries before payment.

“With this, we will be able to identify all the “Jesus Christs” who resurrect to come and collect their pensions,” he said.

He, however, encouraged the pensioners to write petitions against the executive secretaries if there was any suspicion of fraud.

The governor also said plans were underway to give jobs to pensioners who were still fit for employment.