Controversial Omo-Agege’s Endorsement: Don’t Drag Us Into Unwholesome Politics – Delta LG Pensioners Tackle Counterparts

Controversy is currently trailing the purported endorsement of the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Delta state, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege by the Primary School Teachers Retirees under the aegis of the Association of Contributory Retirees (ACR), as members of the Local Government Contributory Retirees of Delta State, dismissed the said endorsement.

BIGPEN NIGERIA (www.bigpenngr.com) reports that one Helen Ejieh had last week led some members of the group to a town hall where they throw their weight behind Omo-Agege at Opute Hall, Ozoro, Isoko South Local Government of the state.

Ejieh claimed that ACR has membership strength of over 50,000 members across the 25 local governments of the state.

She was quoted to have said while pushing for Omo-Agege’s candidacy: “we have over five thousand local government retirees. I am not talking about the state. When we talk of local government retirees, I mean those that retired from primary schools, and those that worked in the council. But as you can see here today, these are just a little percentage of those that retired from primary school. Council workers are not even here.

“As you can see, we have already started doing our work and we know by the grace of God that if it’s only the cry of senior citizens like us God will hear our cry and God will take Governor Okowa down and lift you up because we believe that it is only you who can solve our problems.”

“At one time, he deceived us that he wanted to give us N10b if he borrowed money. So, when he went to borrow, we calculated that N10b to end in 2016. Yet the man borrowed N150b today, and N200b tomorrow. Look at the recent one now. Just throwing Delta State money anyhow not even remembering that we are leaving. Okowa wants us dead but we don’t want to die. We are not going to die, sir”.

But in a swift reaction, Local Government Contributory Retirees, led by Mr Daniel Onosanimoni and Engr. Godwin Ekenini, Chairman and Secretary respectively, disowned the Ejieh-led Local Education Authorities/Primary Schools Retirees) Contributory Retirees of not having authority to speak for the larger group.

In a press statement the duo said; “We the Local Government arm of the Association of Contributory Retirees (ACR) wish to outrightly dissociate our members from the meeting between Mrs. Helen Ejieh, Chairman Contributory Retirees (Local Education Authorities/Primary Schools Retirees), her supporters/group (among the LEA/Pry. Sch. Retirees) and the Gubernatorial Candidate of the APC in Delta State, DSP Ovie Omo-Agege.

They stated that the Local Government Contributory Retirees is composed of all categories of Local Government employees who retired from the Local Government Service of Delta State and are yet to draw their Pensions, adding that as a body they were not consulted nor was a part of the meeting at Ozoro “and therefore  the Teachers group of ACR cannot speak for us nor serve as our mouthpiece. Whatever resolution reached is for the Primary School Teachers and should not be misconstrued as the decision of all Local Government Retirees”.

“We are a non-partisan body that is poised for the payment of the pensions and gratuities of our members using only known legal and constitutional channels to press home our demands and we have not resorted to party politics by endorsing any political party or any Governorship candidate for that matter.

“We completely disown the contents of the press release/publicity that followed the said meeting as we remain neutral and apolitical in our approach and agitations for the payment of our pension entitlement,” they wrote.

“We do not begrudge any person or group of persons from associating or holding political opinions. But we object to the use of our umbrella Association and name in the promotion of the interests of a political party (the APC), among political parties on ground in Delta State. While we concede that no pensioner of Delta State ought to be owed pensions, having served for 35 years or attained the age of 60 years, we therefore use this medium to urge the State Government to expedite action with the Technical Committee put in place to clear the backlog of pension and gratuities owed the Local Government Retirees in the State”.

They, however commended the Delta State Government for a renewed commitment towards the payment of accrued rights of pensioners, especially, with the release of the 2 tranches of N2.5 billion each making a total of N5 billion lately for the payment of the accrued rights of Local Government and Primary School Teachers in the State.

“The information at our disposal from our engagement with the Bureau of Local Government Pension at various times indicate that there are not more than 8,000 retirees yet to be paid. Our figures are not near 10,000 not to talk of the 50,000 cited in the news. And that the number is decreasing on a monthly basis due to the enhanced fund release by the Governor for the payment of accrued rights,” they added.

“We therefore condemn in its entirety the attempt by the Primary School Teachers Retirees arm to drag us into unwholesome politics and unnecessary heating up of the polity as we do not want to be caught in any guise, in the unfolding struggles and contests among political actors, since we are ordinary retirees supporting the government of the day to speedily pay our outstanding pensions”.

“Therefore, we once again deny and reject any attempt by Mrs. Helen Ejieh and her sympathizers to draw us into any political circus show”, they said.