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Friday 17 June 2016

Governor Rochas Okorocha reacts to the protest by pensioners

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has reacted to the recent protest by pensioners in the state.

The elderly pensioners on Wednesday, June 15, took to the streets of the state capital to demonstrate over non payment of their entitlements by the government. Below is the statement issued by Sam Onwuemeodo, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor:


"The State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has sincerely commended the pensioners in the state for the peaceful manner with which they had conducted their protest on Thursday, June 16, 2016 over the non-payment of their pensions for certain months.
The governor contends that the Pensioners were right to have gone on protest over their pensions, and had only exercised their guaranteed right of protest over an issue affecting them.
It was as a result of the appreciation of the reason for the protest that made the governor to direct the security agencies in the state and all the government officials to be on their toes for the period the protest had lasted to ensure that no pensioner involved in the exercise was insulted or touched. And the pensioners had had undisrupted outing, and even chased away the Commissioner for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) who was sent to talk with them on what could be made available for them as entertainment, while discussion with their leaders would follow. However, the only area the governor felt and still feel worried with the pensioners was their failure or inability to find out the reason for the delay in the payment of their pensions since such situation had not arisen before now. 
The pensioners in the state do not need to be told that the governor loves them greatly and would have also loved to pay them all the arrears outrightly given the option since he had paid them religiously since 2011, until now. And the governor had expected the pensioners to ask question and find out the reason for the delay this time. 
Since 2011, and before the current economic challenges across the nation, the government had paid the pensioners in the state without taking cognizance of certain lapses in the administration of the pension payments and the number of genuine pensioners in the state. But the economic situation in the country at the moment occasioned by the mismanagement of the country’s resources over the years, which has also affected negatively the financies of the states has called for stringent measures in the payment of salaries and pensions. It was this development that had compelled the government to find out why between 2011 and now, the number of pensioners in the state has snowballed by 500 percent, and the amount involved gone from hundreds of millions of naira to billions of naira. 
That was one of the reasons the government embarked on verification. And preliminary findings have shown that a cartel had used the opportunity offered to them by the change of government in 2011 to inflate unpatriotically the number of pensioners in the state to a level that is unbelievable. And that is what the government has been assiduously working to rectify. And the truth remains that once the government succeeds in separating the fake pensioners from the genuine ones, the genuine ones would be paid their pensions. And this action will be taken in a matter of weeks. 
The governor therefore regrets the delay and at the same time appeals to the pensioners in the state for their understanding, bearing in mind that he meant well for them since 2011 when he became governor. It is equally important to let the pensioners know that those urging them to take one action or the other do not love them more than governor Okorocha. For instance, the owner of the particular Radio station in the state that had tried to make out something sinister from the pensioners’ protest was reported to have got more than N750 million from the 4 billion dollars’ arms purchase scandal, and the pensioners should ask those in the radio station why they didn’t bring up the N750 million issue for discussion. 
Once more, the governor appeals to the pensioners in the state for understanding.

53 comments:

  1. Abeg munna pay dem e no easy to work for 35yrs for government mbok

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    1. Hissed!

      Understanding until dey end up in their graves. Very ridiculous.

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    2. Same story everywhere Nigeria is in dire need of divine intervention

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    3. Wicked rochas
      -D great anonymous now as Vivian Reginalds

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  2. Oropo! Biko pay dem what you owe dem. Linda take note!

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    1. Rochas is a disgrace!!! Greedy man, gradually acquiring ALL the land in Imo State for his selfish use! God is watching.

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    1. Too much talk abegi...pay dem already...heartless bastards wiv no conscience

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  4. APC and their lieing attitude with sweet deadly tongue....Mr governor stop talking too much so u won't regret like lie mohammed and pay them joor,dat's their only means of survival.

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  5. I think I'd have to ask You Bindow, my state governor what has become of our state's pension

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  6. Just pay d money, leave poetry for poemer ppl


    ...merited happiness

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  7. Forget the long speech and pay them jor! APC have been a disappointment since day one.

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  8. I once like this man,but I dislike him now mismanagement. And youhave been paying dem since 2011 from the mismanage resource,then you did not call the government to order.

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  9. Could recall he increased their pay upon assuming office, was surprised to hear he is now owing them. Owelle please do well to pay them.



    ~BONARIO~says so via NOKIA LUMIA

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  10. Oga pay them their pensions oh, no time for epistle!

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  11. OKORO OSHI , You have turned imo state into family businesses, Adapalm now Roche kini ko, Son inlaw Chief of Staff, House of Freda. oya na

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  12. Useless man,they will surely treat your descendants this way.the last time u paid pensioners was in 2014 n u have the morality to talk.instead of paying them part of their money,u gave out a whooping 600 million inflated contract to your younger sister for a useless Xmas tree n beautification last december.God go punish u.

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  13. *********************************************Person wey 1st read finish abeg summarize n drop a comment !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ana ekwu nam di allergic to long notes !!!!!!!!!!! E come be Rochas own !!!!!!!!!!!! What won't I read !!!!!!!!!

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    1. Haha haha hahaha. New, u just got me laughing. Tx

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  14. *********************************************Person wey 1st read finish abeg summarize n drop a comment !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ana ekwu nam di allergic to long notes !!!!!!!!!!! E come be Rochas own !!!!!!!!!!!! What won't I read !!!!!!!!!

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  15. They should try and pay them their money.



    says, Genevieve.

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  16. Arant nonsense!!!

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  17. You have absolutely nothing to say Rochas. Continuing wearing your dirty cloths with your unshaved beards. Wonder how dirty your boxer shorts and underwear a will be

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  18. it's quite sad the governor reacted 2 whole days after the protest, but it's more saddening his reaction is nothing but noise which is synonymous with APC. if since 2011 he's yet to figure out the number of pensioners in his stead, how the fuck does he expect to pay em...??

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  19. Drama in Imo pay the pple and stopdis Ur local drama local govnor

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  20. Governments should pay pensioners first before any other civil servant.

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  21. You are talking rubbish. .750 million nonsense!!! Instead of you to pay them you are talking politics! ! Come ,who voted you!!!!As in !!I can't even imagine

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  22. You are a failure of a man stop blabbing and spreading lies you are trying to distinguish the fake and real pensioners wat about the teachers,the lecturers that you ve offered to cut certain percentage of their salaries and they refused which has made imo state university to be on strike for over 3months now wah about other civil servants or should i even talk about health workers including doctors,you have even threatened them that they ll be sacked for wanting their rights,we ve heard all this lies you nd ur apc people have always being telling us truth be told we dont blame u but ourselves for electing you the second time,we know Naija is hard now buh imo state is worst

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  23. Joyous babe,Linda ikeji first cousin17 June 2016 at 21:19

    Story, I beg pay them their money

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  24. Rubbish, please do what is needful.

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  25. Okorocha, the best reaction is to pay them their monthly pension. It is unfair that these old men and women are allowed to starve to death because governor Okorocha refused to pay them their pension with which to take care of themselves.

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  26. Pity these old people plz.

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  27. Oh my Chineke,
    seeing the pictures alone
    my heart melted; abeg make
    person no quench o. These are
    peoples father/grandfather...
    ...the sight of this long speech
    alone that contains no #hope can cause instant death.

    Sir do something

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  28. I get angry whenever I hear or see people(especially people who don't reside in imo state) commend rochas. The man is a monster whose DNA is embedded with deceit. For those of u who think he is a saint/saviour come to imo and spend one week

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  29. Since this Governor entered APC he has somehow lost so much including his integrity and maybe even his sanity.

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  30. Nde Imo ntor! My people my people how market?

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  31. Confused man, you have been paying them since 2011 when you claimed that the government resources was been mismanaged but you can't pay again now that your saviour is here to redeem us. Okorocha receive sense before it is too late.

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  32. Since 2011 Imo state does not pay pension is simply wickedness. Payment of pensioners is work of God any body in Government should not play politics with. No excuse now is reasonable enough. God is watching us in any position we are . Do well always. Imo state should improve .

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  33. Okorocha keep bringing curses upon you,your children and your generations to come. Many of these pensioners died of heart attack. Some of them who need drugs to take care of themselves cannot get their drugs and no one to help because their children's little sources of income can't solve their financial problems and you think you'll go free from the curses no way because they always cry to God with a broken heart 💔.

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  34. Okoroawusa pls pay them oooo!!!

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  35. I have always viewed Okorocha as a ridiculous being. I just wonder. The write up looks very political and patronising.

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  36. My Mum's GRATUITIES have not been paid by Rochas since 2010 that she retired while he is owing she and my dad pension since 2014 and you say their cry hv not gotten to God?. Definitely no cos Rochas and his entire generation wil definitely reap the fruit of every tiny seed they have sown.

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  37. But he's been paid as a governor huh? All these wicked men in power!!! Rochas family are all having a good life in Dallas TX here and people are suffering. How will he pay when he stole a huge sum of #104billion and dumped in an American bank which was just discovered. May God help Nigerian leaders!!! They all come into government with d aim of stealing rather than bettering the economy.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the comment writers alone and does not reflect or represent the views of Linda Ikeji.

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