MAYOWA SAMUEL
Retirees in Niger State on Wednesday stormed Government House, Minna, to protest the non-payment of their gratuity for the past eight years.
One of the retirees, Idris Ndalati, who retired as a chief driver from the government house, told journalists that he had not been paid his gratuity for seven years.
According to him, many retirees in Niger have died, while some were bedevilled by high blood pressure and strike due to problems associated with non-payment of their benefits.
Mr Ndalati further explained that “Our children have stopped going to school because we could not pay their school fees, and many of us cannot shoulder the responsibility of feeding our family.”
The protesters also accused the Niger chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners of not protecting the interest of its members.
Addressing the protesters, the state deputy governor, Ahmed Ketso, said the state government would look into the complaint forwarded by the retirees.
He, therefore, fixed Thursday for an interface with the retirees to look into grey areas to address some of them.
(NAN)
