Nigeria Content Online

Some
former staff of the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, yesterday
made a passionate appeal to the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, to
compel the office of the Head of Service to pay their gratuities and
pension arrears dating from 2008.

The workers,
numbering about 31, were disengaged from service on April 16, 2007, as
part of the federal government’s reform of the public service in 2007,
through its monetisation policy.

The aggrieved
workers, in a letter made available to reporters in Akure, also urged
the federal government to make sure that the pension board paid them
three months salary in lieu of notice of sack.

They faulted the harsh way they said the federal government handled their dismissal, describing the action as an injustice.

Spokesperson of the
affected workers, Samuel Idowu Alejo, said the affected workers
deserved to be paid gratuities and pensions, having spent up to 10
years in service. He said it is wrong for the federal government to
neglect them when their colleagues in other states were being paid
their entitlements on a monthly basis. He also accused the Federal
Pension Board of short-paying some of his colleagues whose dates of
service were changed to deny them of their benefits.

“In line with the
federal government pension decree 1979, as amended, we are entitled to
monthly pensions because we fell within the old scheme which guaranteed
retirees either voluntary or compulsory pension,” he said.

“One expects
government policy to be interpreted uniformly because as of 2007 when
we were disengaged, the old policy on pension schemes covered us and
this put us in advantage of monthly pensions because the old scheme
terminated on June 31, 2007. It is important to note that most of our
colleagues in sister institutions are enjoying their monthly pensions
without hindrance. We beg the acting president to urgently wade into
the matter, so that our demands can be met.”

Living in penury

Alejo added that
despite different letters written to the office of the Permanent
Secretary and Pensions in the office of the Head of Service of the
Federation, nothing meaningful has been done about the issue.

He pleaded with the
office of the Head of Service of the Federation to direct the
Accountant General’s Office to pay their pension arrears because some
of the disengaged workers are living in abject penury.