Group seeks law compelling payment of pensioners’ benefits

By DOTUN IBIWOYE

A MUSLIM Group, the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has charged the government to enact a law compelling payment of pensioners’ benefits within six months of retirement.

In a statement by its Director, Professor Is-haq Akintola, MURIC said this would discourage civil servants from indulging in corrupt practices driven by the fear of what awaits them after retirement.

According to him, “this indicates that there is a symbiotic link between corruption and the shoddy way pensioners are treated.”

He said some state governments deserve commendation for the increased level of citizens’ welfare, noting that governance must have a human face and the welfare of the citizens must be the cardinal objective of government, particularly the elderly.

He decried the act where men and women, who spent most of the productive period of their lives serving the country, were being treated like lepers who must be isolated and live the rest of their lives in penury.

Acording to him, “In their old age, Nigerians who toiled for their country are treated like oranges whose owners peel off the skin and squeeze the juice out of them until they become totally dry and useless.