The Delta Government says it has committed N1.1 billion monthly to paying retired civil servants their pensions.
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| Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State. Photo: @DSGovernment |
The State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, disclosed on Friday in Asaba at a news briefing.
Aniagwu also disclosed that the state government had commenced the enrollment of the more than 25,000 flood victims across the state into the State Health Insurance Scheme.
He noted that the pension funds were channelled to the retirees under the old pension scheme and the contributory pension scheme.
He said that in spite of the state government efforts and commitment to tackling the pension issues, certain group of LGA workers had been sponsored by the opposition to protest against non-payment of outstanding pensions.
He said that the Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa-led government has planned to give N10 billion to the LGAs to defray the backlog of the pensions.
Aniagwu said that Okowa had gone round the camps to provide relief materials, “but the governor believes that man does not live by bread alone.
“By the time they (flood victims) leave this camp, it is possible for them to take care of their healthcare needs. These are persons that are rich and government needs to meet them halfway.
“When they go back to their homes, there will be challenges of rebuilding their homes.
“Government will not be in a position to do a number of things for them. But Okowa has said health is wealth, there is need to be healthy for them to begin to engage in other things,” he said.VanguardNGR
