Retirees in Kaduna State said they have lost over 1000 members due to hunger and poverty while awaiting their entitlement.
The group‘s chairman, Prof Net Danjuma, disclosed this to journalists on Thursday during a meeting with the retirees to seek lasting solutions to their plights.
According to Prof. Danjuma, most of the state‘s retirees have not received their entitlements for over seven years.
He called for the cancellation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), saying that it is not in the retirees‘ interest.
Prof Danjuma appealed to the governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, to pay them their entitlement.
„As of today, we have over 1000 pensioners died awaiting their entitlement. There is a burial ongoing now. I have resolved that for any retirees that die now, we will arrange a convoy to take the corpse to the government house.
„It is a serious case in Kaduna. All other States are paying only Kaduna. If Kaduna State releases N20bn, they will settle most of us. It is a deliberate attempt from the government and not a lack of funds“.
„Many of us left service 6 to 8 years ago without payment. The State government has not paid us a single kobo. We have written to the government and done everything we could as human beings, but nothing happens „.
„We, the retirees in Kaduna State, don‘t need CPS. CPS is sending people to their early graves. And we are calling on the government to stop the system. CPS is not a system that should be sustained in the kind of Nigeria socio-economic system“.
Maureen David Shiri Wyom, a retired director from the quality assurance board, ministry of Education, said that retirees in Kaduna are not taken care of; we are suffering, she said.
Mrs Wyom, a 65-year-old woman, explained that most of their members feed from hand to mouth, while others survive at the mercy of people.
„We are appealing to the government to pay us our entitlements. We have served the State. They should pay us without frustrating us“.
The retirees, however, rejected the 25 per cent access of entitlement, demanding 100 per cent payment.
Meanwhile, Abdullahi Ishaku, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Kaduna State Pension Bureau, promised to react today, Friday.
