Delta at 30: We joined in laying foundation stones of Delta State, don’t abandon us; retirees tell Okowa

Retirees from local government and primary school teachers have joined other Deltans in celebrating the 30th-anniversary celebration of the creation of Delta State and used the occasion to call on the government and people of Delta State not to abandon them unattended.

The çall was contained in a goodwill message issued by the Chairman of local government and primary school teachers contributory retirees, Amb Mode Augustine, Friday, August 27.

He said while “we the local government and Primary School retirees celebrate and rejoice with the state government, we want the Government to know that we (the present retirees) are among those who laid the foundation upon which the State took off. If we were unpatriotic and unproductive the government of today will not have a base upon which to celebrate.”

“We want the Government to acknowledge our sufferings as of one whose means of livelihood had stopped on the day of our retirement, some since 2014, and that is seven years ago. We need to care for our families.

“All we are asking the government to do for us is to help offset the over #51 billion Accrued rights standing as debt in her coffers to enable us to access the contributions we made from our salaries. This accrued right payment is the only key that can unlock our savings with the various PFAs.

“Today, the State celebrates, but we the retirees are dying due to lack and wants, yet our money lies fallow in other peoples’ purses.”

“We call on his Excellency, Sen. Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa once again to have pity on us at this auspicious time by increasing the present monthly remittances to the Bureau of Local Government Pension from #300 million to #2 billion; release a lump sum of about #10 billion and /or take a bond to offset the over #51 billion backlog to remove us from our sufferings.” Mode said.