By ALEX ENEBELI

Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State, on Wednesday inaugurated a 7-man committee on the verification and payment of outstanding pension and gratuity of the state retirees.

Mbah said the idea was to help cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on retirees in the state.

The seven-man committee is chaired by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, and has the Head of Service, Kenneth Ugwu, Accountant-General of the State, Mr Anthony Okenwa, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Finance Management, Prof. Obiamaka Egbo, as members.

Others are the State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Ben Asogwa, State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, and the Chairman, Public Service Joint Negotiating Council, Comrade Ezekiel Omeh.

Inaugurating the committee, Mbah said they would be responsible for the verification and payment of outstanding pensions and gratuities of the state retirees.

He reiterated his administration’s commitment to improve the living standard of pensioners in the state by creating policies and programmes aimed at annihilating their plights.

The governor reminded the members of his campaign promises which anchored on poverty reduction, adding that the state government under his watch must target those policies that had been designed to get to the vulnerable ones with much interest in the security of lives and properties.

He added that it was the government’s policy to ensure that measures were put in place to cushion the effect of hardship orchestrated by the fuel subsidy removal.

Mbah explained that the best way to achieve that was to ensure that vulnerable ones and retirees in the state had access to funds to be able to increase their living standard and healthy life.

He recalled that few days ago, he inaugurated a palliative committee to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy.

“I am more than happy to inaugurate a committee on verification and payment of outstanding pensions and gratuities of our state retirees.

“The Committee was inaugurated in order to help cushion the immediate and short-term effects of the removal of fuel subsidy,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Committee, to be chaired by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, has the following terms of reference – to determine and verify the outstanding two months pensions arrears of the state retirees.

Others are to determine and verify the outstanding two months gratuities of the state retirees, conduct all payments according to months, years of retirement of officers from service and to render monthly and quarterly reports to the secretary to the state government in respect of all payments made. (NAN)

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