By David Owei, Baylesa

Henceforth local government workers retiring from service in Bayelsa State are to be paid their full gratuities and pension benefits not later than a month after their retirement.

The Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, disclosed this on Wednesday, at an enlarged meeting with Council Chairmen, Auditor General for Local Government, officials from the local government pensions board, and other top government functionaries in Government House, Yenagoa.

A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, quoted the deputy governor as saying that the decision was not only part of ongoing reforms in the local government system, but most importantly targeted at alleviating the sufferings of retirees.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo, who decried the current procedure for processing retirees’ pension and gratuity documents as too slow and cumbersome, emphasized that the three month pre-retirement period was long enough for any retiring worker to complete such statutory documentations.

He pointed out, however, that government was putting the necessary modalities in place to ensure that retired staff got their full gratuity payment not later than 30 days after their exit from local government service.

Consequently, he directed the Local Government Service Commission and Pensions Board to provide retirement forms to all affected staff three months to their due date, warning that the situation where it takes several months to process retirement documents and the payment of illegal fees would no longer be tolerated.

The Deputy Governor, who supervises the various local government councils and rural development authorities, noted that retirees deserve respect and rest, and therefore, should not be subjected to any form of suffering before receiving their statutory benefits.

His words:”As far as I am concerned, the present system or process for the payment of gratuities and pensions is too cumbersome, complicated, time consuming and defective for my liking. I don’t think I can continue to preside over such an ineffective, vigorous, demeaning and punitive system.

“I don’t see any reason why it should take two years for the processes to be completed for retired local government pensioners to be paid pensions and gratuities. That is why some people die before their pensions are ready.

“We are submitting that in about one month, every pensioner should be through with the post-retirement processes and documentations, and he or she is paid his or her money, immediately after retirement.

“The retirees are our staff, and so why are we making them to go to Accountant General’s office, and other offices to collect one form or the other. After all, most of the information we need about them should be in the office, if we are really serious.

“These are people who have put in several years to serve government, and they deserve respect and rest. And so, they should not be made to unnecessarily travel to offices for documentation purposes.”

On the issue of unclaimed cheques from the last tranche of gratuity payment, Senator Ewhrudjakpo directed the leadership of the local government chapter of the pensioners’ union to mandate two persons in each local government for effective information dissemination to their members.

Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo also used the opportunity to distribute the Wilberforce Herbal Tea locally produced by the Natural Medicine Institute of the Niger Delta University, and called on the local government councils to each sponsor at least 10 persons to study herbal medicine at the institute.

In their separate contributions, the Mayor of Yenagoa City Council, Mr Bulodisiye Ndiwari, and the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Local Government Chapter, Mr Noel Itade, commended the Deputy Governor for the new initiative aimed at promptly paying the gratuities of local government retirees.