Some Edo state government retirees, under the platform of “The Most Aggrieved Pensioners’ on Wednesday held a special prayer session in Benin City to seek divine intervention over their unpaid gratuities.
At the interdenominational service held at Teachers House in Benin City, the pensioners prayed for the enablement of the state government and preservation of their lives.
Several hundreds of retired citizens of Edo State comprising Christians and Muslims on had converged at Teachers House in Benin City to seek God’s intervention for their unpaid entitlements.
The prayer session conducted by Pastor Liberty James featured praises, hymns, worships, Bible and Quaranic lessons and sermons.
They prayed for the urgent payment of their entitlements, friendly policies, enablement of the Governor Godwin Obaseki Administration to clear all the outstanding pension arrears of the senior citizens.
Welcoming, the guests and participants to the event, leader of the Aggrieved Pensioners, Barr Gabriel O. Osemwenkha said the Prayer Session was organized primarily to thank God for sustaining their lives and galvanize prayer to solicit God’s intervention in breaking the jinx militating against prompt payment of all entitlement, due to pensioners in Edo State.
He said Pensioners realize that, no venture succeeds without God’s approval and blessings, pointing out the Aggrieved Pensioners have many reason to glorify God especially for the defeat of dark forces from within and external sources.
Speaking further, he said the event was to remind Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki to keep his promise to settle all arrears of pension latest December, 2018 made on May Day at the University of Benin Sports Complex, Benin City. He hoped that God would grant the Governor enabling power to pay accordingly that.
He explained that money being paid to pensioners has not stabilized them due to the fact that they accumulated huge debts before their enrollment into the monthly pension coupled with outrageous living cost. He said payment of their outstanding arrears and gratuities would remove the debt burden currently confronting them.
Barrister Osemwenkha also used the opportunity to urge the Governor to Harmonize Old Pensioners earnings which he described as pathetic. Saying that He said it was unpatriotic to feel indifferent to plight of pensioners who continue to receive less than four thousand naira monthly, whereas the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria adequately provides that take-home monthly pay should be upgraded every five years or whenever salary income and wages were increased.
The Aggrieved Pensioners Leader, Barr. Osemwenkha pledged to continue to advocate and agitate for improvement in the Welfare of Pensioners as long as those in the corridor of power remain dormant and self serving.
In their respective sermon titled “A Labourer deserves his due wages at the end of the day”, Christian and Islamic Clerics, namely Pastor Liberty and Mallam Yesuf Bako, both prayed to God to manifest his power and direct custodian of power in Edo State to do the needful.
Sighting Biblical and Quaramic verses, both clerics were united in the strong advocacy for urgent and speedy settlement of pensioners’ entitlements.
According to them, “the men and women of Grey hair who have served their father land in their prime age deserve honour, fair and equitable treatment”.
The congregation also prayed for departed colleagues.
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