Imo Governor, Okorocha Asks Pensioners to Forfeit 60% Arrears
According to the news platform, the governor in a letter ask the retirees to sign for 40 per cent of their arrears and forfeit the remaining 60 percent.
The letter also pointed out that all arrears beyond 13 months will be canceled.
A civil servant in the state said some retirees of the Alvan Ikoku University of Education were asked to forfeit 59 out of 72 months they are being owed.
“By my own findings, many people still went for it because precedent tells them that they might as well forfeit everything if they rejected it,” he said.
“There was a time government was owing the judicial staff and those people went for strike for almost eight months. At the end, nothing was done; they even had to come back and beg, that whatever was agreed before should be paid them.
“Many people were psychologically beaten to take it. But I know those who have not taken it are more in the state than those who have.”
One of the pensioners who rejected the offer said some of their colleagues have accepted the offer after being threatened.
“It is one thing to call God and another thing is to serve God,” he said.
“Our governor does not know God. If he knew God, he would know that those who suffered in their youthful life, for the state and the nation, should be given preference.
“How come he wants to pay us 40 percent and cancel 60 percent, plus whatever claims you have? He said if you have signed, you have no rights to ask for the present, past or future. That is ungodly; anybody who has God at heart cannot treat even slaves like this, not to talk of senior citizens.
“I am owed 23 months. The three months he paid in 2015, I didn’t get anything; my name didn’t appear. The one I got is the 70 percent he paid this August. January 2015 to December 2016 is 24 months. So if you remove August, I’m being owed 23 months, and he wrote 13 months in my form and asked me to sign that I have collected all that is due to me. See how wicked.”
