Cross River: Retirees block highway in protest over pension delay

Pensioners in Cross River State have taken to the streets to protest the non-payment of their benefits to them by the state government since 2014.

It was gathered that the pensioners were among those the state government announced to have been dead.

The pensioners, who were local government workers, blocked the Murtala Mohammed Highway in Calabar metropolis as they arranged chairs and sat on the two lanes of the road.

They also chanted songs and carried placards as they asked Governor Ben Ayade to pay them their pensions.

Some retirees, who have not been paid since 2014, have concluded plans to drag Ayade to the National Industrial Court in Calabar.

The decision was reached after a series of protests to Ayade’s office yielded no positive result.

Recently, some workers in the state protested their delisting from the government’s payroll.

They said that the state government stopped their salaries without an official letter or the termination of their appointment.

The pension being owed by the state government was put at over N35 billion.