James Ojo, Abuja
Pensioners of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), have appealed to President Mohammadu Buhari, to save them from untimely death and untold hardship over the non -payment of arrears of pension allowances amounting to N 25.4 billions.
In a petition to Buhari dated January 21, 2019, the pensioners lamented that they were yet to be paid as directed by him, noting that the excuse given was that there were no funds.
“We were reliably informed that your Excellency had about two years ago set up a Presidential Inter Agency Ministerial Reconcilliation Committee to authenticate the genuineness or otherwise of our claims.
“The committee we were informed approved the payment which up till now has not been made due to ‘paucity of fund,” the petition signed by the chairman, Alhaji Bawa Gaidam and secretary, Elder Alex Abu stated.
The pensioner told the President that they were seeking his intervention for the payment of their pension arrears so as to save them from untimely death.
“Most of us have no access to medical facilities and we are dying prematurely. Pensioners as your Excellency knows are vulnerable species as a result of ageing,” they informed the President.
Buhari was further informed that the issue of the pensioners in the Electricity sector has lingered for over a decade since it was privatised.
The pension arrears were breakdown into Harmonisation, Monetisation, Year 2000 retirees and Electricity rebate.