Retirees have protested to Government House in Asaba, Delta State to demand that their gratuities be payed to them.

Retirees have protested to Government House in Asaba, Delta State to demand that their gratuities be payed to them. The retired teachers, drawn from the 25 local government areas of the state, barricaded the road linking Asaba and Anwai, thereby making vehicular movement impossible while the protest lasted. There was also no vehicular movement into and out of the Government House.

The protesters, armed with placards with various inscriptions, lamented the lukewarm attitude of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to the payment of gratuities of the senior citizens. Speaking to journalists, their leader, Ejieh Helen remarked that the issue of non-payment of gratuities of retired teachers by Governor Okowa began in 2015 when he became governor.

She said Okowa started to pay in 2017 after they protested, adding that the government was releasing 150 million naira a month and it was only enough to pay about 20 retirees whereas there are over six thousand retired teachers waiting to be paid. On the allegation that the main opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is using the retirees to protest, she remarked that Governor Okowa should hide his face in shame for politicizing their plight.