Retired staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, Eastern District, have asked the managing director of the Corporation, Engr. Adeseyi Sijuwade to hand over all the assets and liabilities of the pensioners to the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, for better management of their pensions.
Rising from a general meeting held in Enugu, Tuesday, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Railway Chapter, Enugu, implored Sijuwade to comply with the federal government’s directive to transfer assets and liabilities of the railway pensioners to PTAD so as to end the agony of the retired workers.
Speaking to journalists in an interview, Enugu District Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Chief Edwin Nwachukwu, lamented that over 500 pensioners had died in agony occasioned by hunger and frustration.
While accusing Sijuwade of being behind their plight, the chairman said, “he wants all of us to die. He transferred N3 billion to the federation account saying that he is using it for capital project. We protested, PTAD protested but he remained adamant”.
The pensioners lamented that even though they were the least paid pensioners in the federation, most of their members were not even getting the pensions due to them, for over six years.
They blamed the managing director for being insensitive to their plight by not complying with the directive by the Senate committee on transport that their pensions should be harmonized.
“We, therefore, appeal to the relevant authorities to assist the railway pensioners on this matter as many of our pensioners and next of kins to our deceased members are dying every day because of frustration”, they pleaded.
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