Pensioners in Imo State have applauded the governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, for ending their two decades of suffering through the payment of gratuities to them.
They noted that since the commencement of the current democratic dispensation in 1999, no administration in the state had deemed it fit to pay them their gratuities until Uzodimma remembered them.
Chairman of the state chapter of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Comrade J B Ugochukwu, told newsmen in Owerri that this unprecedented gesture by the governor will ever remain evergreen in the memories of the senior citizens.
He disclosed that what has made the payment of gratuities remarkable is the fact that Uzodimma had earlier cleared their pension arrears while the monthly pensions are now regular.
“We can’t thank our God sent governor, His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON, enough. Although not everyone has been paid, the majority have received theirs and are full of gratitude to him, “he declared.
Corroborating the chairman’s assertion, a pensioner, Mrs. Mary Nkemjika, said she could not believe it when she was paid her gratuities after 15 years of waiting.
According to her, “I retired in 2009. Since then, no government has paid me one Kobo in the name of gratuities. Even the monthly pension was coming irregularly. Please help me thank His Excellency for this miracle”.
In his own testimonial, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro from Arondizuogu disclosed that he was speechless when his gratuities came.
“I never thought I would be alive to receive my gratuities. It’s only God that could have used the governor to accomplish this feat. I give Him all the glory, “he submitted.
Similarly, Mr. Joe Nwadike from Aboh Mbaise acknowledged the payment of his gratuities after a 17-year wait and prayed for a long life for the governor.
He said since the coming of Uzodimma, he had been receiving his pensions regularly, describing the payment of gratuities as an icing in the cake.
“I have personally written to the Commissioner for Information to extend my gratitude to the governor and thank him personally for me. I am still waiting for his reply because what has happened has never happened since 1999, “he said.