Peter Obi, the former Labour Party presidential candidate, has denounced governments for delaying the payment of seniors’ pensions and gratuities.
Obi reportedly claimed that because of government delays in paying their entitlements, many pensioners nationwide are unable to take care of their basic requirements and health.
In a statement released on Sunday, the leader of the Labour Party described how an elderly retiree in Nsukka, Enugu State, contacted him about her situation on Saturday due to her pension not being paid.
My terrifying experience with an elderly woman yesterday (Saturday) has made me extremely concerned about the level of insensitivity that permeates Nigeria’s institutional and political leadership.
“On my official visit to Shanahan College of Nursing Sciences, Nsukka, I was mingling with the administration and students when I spotted an elderly woman who was having a very difficult time speaking to me.
“Those in the vicinity attempted to push her away and silence her, but I immediately asked to speak with her and hear her story.
She identified herself as a retired civil official who had dedicated the fruitful years of her life to serving the country.
She complained that her pension had not been paid for some time. Even more tragic was the fact that she had been ill and hospitalized for more than a week, with medical costs, but her first concern was that she didn’t even have one Naira to buy food.
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I had a wave of rage and sympathy. anger at leaders like me who have made life miserable for others by denying them the rewards of their labor out of selfishness and an unquenchable desire for worldly possessions. “And then sympathy for the poor old woman, and many others like her whose suffering may never be heard,” he explained.
The former governor of Anambra State urged governments to give retirees’ welfare first priority.
That is the country in which we reside. a country devoid of compassion and humanity.
Any administration that denies our elderly citizens their pensions and gratuities during their vulnerable years is evil, as I have stated and continue to believe. Because I was aware of the suffering that the elderly were going through, I inherited and paid off approximately ₦30 billion in pensions and gratuities that had accumulated over the years while I was governor.
“I offered her my meager assistance right away and pledged to follow up with the hospital administration on her situation.
“However, I am more concerned with the many others like her, dying in silence in many parts of the nation, because no one can speak for them. We must fix this nation. Nigeria must work for all, and everyone will get their due rewards for their productive contributions,” he stated.
