The Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)  has blamed the delay in the payment of pensions to retirees from July 2025 to date on the recent political crisis in the State.

The union also urged the affected retirees to be patient, assuring that something is being done about it.

The NLC State chairman, Comrade Alex Agwuanwon, disclosed this in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt.

He said the delay was not intentional but was caused by the political crisis that engulfed the state, resulting in the declaration of a State of Emergency, last year.

The NLC boss assured that with the resolution of political crisis in the State and the restoration of peace between the executive and legislative arms of government, the issue of payment of pensions to retirees will soon be addressed.

He, therefore, stressed the need for those affected to be patient.

“My appeal to them is that, it is not intentional. The steps are on to address the issues,” he said.

Agwuanwon also told The Tide that the labour movement had earlier  rejected the contributory pension scheme by insisting that civil servants presently in the employment of the government should remain in the old pension scheme.

He said it was against this background that a committee was set up.

According to him, the committee has produced its report which has been submitted to the state government on the issue.

The NLC chairman expressed hope that the report would not only be sent to the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) but also the State House of Assembly with a view to fast-tracking its passage into law.

He said the union made efforts within the period of the State of Emergency to get the scheme amended so that retirees can assess their pension.

“We are not comfortable with the contributory pension scheme, so, asking the civil servants to enroll into the scheme for us is not acceptable. It was totally rejected, so, the old scheme has to run.”

He described the sufferings of retirees, especially during the period of emergency as “a sacrifice we paid for that period.”

“For us, it is very unfortunate, so at that point, there is nothing anybody could have done at this point.

“For us, we made efforts within the period, but the story is that it is a law,” he said.

Giving more insight into the committee’s report, the NLC boss said civil servants, especially those currently in the employment of the state government, will continue to remain in the old scheme.

In his words, “They will continue to run in the current scheme, after retirement they will continue to enjoy their monthly pensions, they will get their gratuities and other benefits, but those that are going to be employed subsequently will be enrolled into the contributory pension scheme,” he said.

He said once the committee report is implemented, those affected will be captured and arrears of their pensions will be paid.

John Bibor

The Cross River State Electrification Agency has commenced a comprehensive assessment of power infrastructure in Bakassi Local Government Area of the state.
Bakassi LGA has been without electricity for more than a decade.
The assessment team, led by the AIG Chief Enene Okon (retd.), inspected power facilities in the 10 wards of the local government to determine the condition of existing infrastructure and identify the interventions required to reconnect communities to the national grid.
During the inspection, the engineers assessed transformers and other power facilities in various communities, identifying some units requiring repairs and others needing complete replacement.
The exercise, according to the team, is expected to provide the technical baseline for the state government’s planned intervention in the area.
Speaking during the inspection, Okon commended the State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, for what he described as the administration’s commitment to the development of Bakassi.
He cited the proposed power restoration, sustained efforts to maintain peace and security, and the planned Bakassi Deep Seaport project as some of the initiatives expected to boost development in the area.
Okon described the assessment as a significant step towards addressing the prolonged electricity crisis in Bakassi, despite what he said was skepticism and opposition from some quarters in the communities.
He also urged residents to maintain their support for the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying continued political alignment will help sustain government attention and development in the area.
The team received a warm reception in several communities, with youths joining the delegation as it moved from one ward to another.
Residents expressed optimism that the assessment would be followed by concrete action to restore electricity in the local government area.
Meanwhile, residents of Ekong/Ekeya community in Ward 12, Calabar South Local Government Area, have appealed to the government to extend a similar intervention to the community, which has been without electricity for about 10 months.
A community representative, Ndabu Okposin David, urged the government to use the current electioneering period to provide the community with a new transformer.
Okposin said the community had contributed significantly to electoral outcomes in the state and deserved government attention.

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of a Bayelsa-based tabloid, “Niger Delta Herald Newspaper”, Dr. Francis Dufugha, has continued to relive moments fire gutted his resident in Yenagoa, the State capital on Wednesday.
The Tide gathered that the Publisher of one of Niger Delta’s foremost tabloids lost properties worth millions of naira to a fire outbreak which gutted parts of his residence in the Okaka area of Yenagoa.
An eyewitness, Mr. Nimi Mienye, said the incident occurred at night.
Mieye told The Tide that smoke was first noticed coming from the kitchen area of the apartment and that the smoke emanating from the house prompted neighbours to raise the alarm.
According to him, no casualty was recorded in the incident as no occupant was in the house as at the time of the outbreak.
Dufugha was in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital for an academic assignment when the incident reportedly occured.
“I was contacted and informed of the sad incident by my neighbours. My neighbours called to inform me of the sad news.
“They said on seeing the heavy smoke coming out from my apartment, they forced their way into the house and mobilised to put out the fire before it could spread to other parts of the building and adjoining properties.
“I want to thank God that no life was lost. It’s quite an unfortunate and distressing development”, the Publisher said.
“But for the quick intervention of neighbours, which helped to prevent the spread of the fire, what could have happened would have been more devastating.
“Property can be replaced, but human life cannot. I am deeply saddened by the incident, but I am also grateful to the neighbours who responded quickly and helped to put out the fire”, Dufugha added.
The Publisher said the exact cause of the fire would need to be properly established, noting that the possibility of an electrical fault following the restoration of public power could not be ruled out.
Meanwhile residents of the area bout electrical safety, particularly the need to take precautions whenever public power supply is restored after an outage. and environs have renewed concerns about electrical safety, particularly the need to take precautions whenever public power supply is restored after an outage.
They called on authorities concerned and relevant emergency agencies to unravel the actual cause of the fire incident and assess the extent of damage to the property.

Ariwera Ibibo-Howells,
Yenagoa