Governor of Imo State, Owelle Anayo Rochas Okorocha has again incurred the wrath of pensioners in the state after keeping them waiting for 4 days without releasing their money.
Trouble began when the state government announced that the pensioners should come to Imo International Conference Center (IICC), on Friday, September 1 Owerri to receive backlog of their pensions. Some of them are being owed for up to 8 months.
The pensioners streamed into Owerri capital territory from various parts of the state for their pension, most of them moving like people acting season 20 of a Zombie movie (looking tired, weak, sick, and unhappy with government).
The pensioners numbering over 5000 left in the evening of that day disappointed as only about 10 percent of them were given cheques for 3 months pension. The rest were told to come on Saturday.
On Saturday, September 2,most of them went back to the IICC venue of payment but received nothing.
This merry go round continued until Tuesday, September 5, when they all returned for the pay expecting something good only for Governor Okorocha to arrive the venue at about 4pm in the evening to address them. The governor told them to go home, that the money will be paid to them on a later date yet to be announced.
The pensioners left disappointed, and kept cursing those who made them waste four days in town without paying them.
The pensioners are waiting for another date to be announced but expressed disgust over the fact that the state government should have made it clear from the first day that money was not available for the payment, instead they made the pensioners waste time and resources on wasteful trips to the city without anything to show for that.
This is very sad for the state. Old grandparents coming all the way from their villages for 3 different days.