Sokoto—More than 50 pensioners in Sokoto State have died while awaiting their federal  pensions from year  2000 to date. This was disclosed by  Alhaji Ahmed Tangaza, Chairman of the Sokoto State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners,  NUP, in Sokoto.

He spoke at a special prayer session organised by the union to seek God’s intervention in the payment of the arrears of the federal pensions.

He said: “We have some 9,000 pensioners under the state government and the 23 local governments of the state and close to 2,000 of  them who have worked before March 1976, are federal pensioners.”

He said that the arrears of the federal pensions being  owed  the pensioners nationwide since 2,000 amounted to trillions of naira.

6 verirification exercises, yet

According to him, “we were told that the Federal Government had recently  set aside about N176 billion  to defray part of the arrears. These arrears are  yet to be paid after  six  verifications with the last being a biometric type which was conducted about three months ago.”

The Chairman appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aid of the union by paying the entitlement without further delay. He said that the pensioners might convene a nationwide prayer if the arrears were not paid within the next two weeks.

Tangaza also decried the attitude of  some of the banks for delaying the payment of their monthly pensions and other entitlements. He however, commended Sokoto State government for ensuring the prompt payment of gratuities to its retired workers.

“We are, however, appealing for the implementation of the new 15.5 and 12 per cent pensions and the immediate payment of some pension arrears for new retirees,” he added.