Pensioners in Abia Wednesday staged a protest over 38 months of unpaid pension arrears by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu-led administration.

The pensioners protested around the major streets of Umuahia and ended up at the Government House.

They accused the Mr Ikpeazu’s administration of being insensitive to their health and economic conditions arising from the lack of funds.

They urged the administration to take serious steps to offset the pension arrears and 20 years of outstanding gratuity.

They carried placards with different inscriptions, such as “Abia pensioners: Monthly payment for 38 months now” and “Non-payment of gratuity since 2002”.

The senior citizens, many of whom looked pale and sickly, expressed disappointment over the government’s inability to pay their monthly pensions in full.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Emeka Okezie appealed to the government to be sensitive to the pathetic condition of pensioners in the state.

“We have been dehumanised and subjected to unimaginable sufferings due to the unavailability of funds to meet their personal and health needs.

“The issue of non-harmonisation of pensions from 1998 to 2010 should be given prompt attention,” Mr Okezie said.

Responding, the governor said that his administration was making conscious efforts to ensure regular and consistent payment of pensions.

Mr Ikpeazu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Chris Ezem, said that the government was focused on improving their welfare.

Also, the Commissioner for Finance, Aham Uko, said that a recent forensic exercise conducted by the government on the pensioners’ payroll exposed 4,422 irregular names.

“The discovery showed that gratuities attached to the irregular names on the payroll amounted to over N6 billion,” Mr Uko said.