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Imo government has paid all outstanding pensions and gratuity of retired judicial officers, including Judges in keeping with its promise to retired judicial officers,.
A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, said the pension payments cost the government almost N400 million.
Retired Judges and other retirees from the state judiciary had last month visited Governor Hope Uzodinma and pleaded with him to save them from hardship occasioned by the non-payment of their pension areas.
The governor had promised he would clear the pension areas. The statement from the commissioner also explained that pensions of other retired workers in the state was being delayed because of the tardy arrangement of the sacked administration of Emeka Ihedioha in which pensioners where paid through a consultant
“This government does not accept a situation where government money must first be paid into a private individual’s account, in the name of a consultant, who then pays the Pensioners from his account.
Meanwhile the so called consultant is paid handsomely just for being an avoidable third party between the government and Pensioners “ the statement said
The statement added that the government has since called for details of the contract between the consultant and the state government but regretted that there are no clear records on ground to show who got what a d how, adding that the consultant has also not been forthcoming .
Emelumba said the tardy consultancy arrangements , the absence of the past government’s claimed biometric data of Pensioners and the reluctance of the consultant to come forward with information on his previous transactions with the government are factors that have contributed in delaying payment of pensions in the state.
The government, the statement explained, has almost concluded working out an arrangement whereby Pensioners will be paid directly by the government . It added that the pensioners would be paid soon.
On delayed local government workers salaries the information commissioner said it was caused by bloated payrolls from the local governments, adding that a thorough verification exercise was ongoing and that the local government workers would be paid in a few weeks.
