No fewer than 450 members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Electricity Sector, in Kwara State on Monday protested the non-payment of their harmonisation, monetisation and gratuity entitlements said to amount to N25bn nationwide.

They also alleged that they were being owed their monthly pensions for many months and so demanded the payment of the arrears.

The pensioners who protested peaceful at the office of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company at Challenge Office, in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital carried placards with different inscriptions.

The placards deplored their indebtedness, drew attention to their plight, and called on the relevant authorities to effect the payment of their entitlements with immediate effect.

Some of the inscriptions include, 'Government, pity the widows of former PHCN''; 'Pity our children'; 'Don't turn us to street beggars'; 'Give us our entitlements'; 'Our rights must be given'; 'Save us from hunger'; 'FG, be sympathetic' and 'Pay us our entitlements and other benefits'.

Kwara State chapter Chairman of NUP, Electricity Sector, Mr. John Akande, said the chapter was in solidarity with other chapters in the country and joined in the protest to draw the attention of the federal government and other relevant stakeholders to the non-payment of their pension arrears.

He called on the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, to kindly assist them draw the attention of President Goodluck Jonathan to their ordeal.

Akande said, "Our bulk salaries for the month of September, October, November and December should quickly be released to the agencies responsible for the payment of our monthly stipends. They should please do that because we are dying.

"We are being owed about N25bn nationwide. That is the arrears of harmonisation, monitesation and gratuity for the beneficiaries.

"Above all we have not been paid our monthly pension for some months now. This is giving us much concern. Majority of us are old; majority are on sick bed and some are on drugs.

"Failure to pay us our monthly pension is unleashing hardship on us. We are losing our people on daily basis. We are appealing to the federal government through the state governor to please help us appeal to the federal government and President Goodluck Jonathan to please have mercy on us."

He also demanded the re-classification of their pension under recurrent budget instead of capital supplementation and the release of same on monthly basis. He added that there should be the implementation of all agreements signed by Labour and the Federal Government of Nigeria at the Hassan Sunmonu Negotiation and Conciliation Committee.

He said, "We demand that appropriate authorities should ascertain and transfer all Power Holding Company of Nigeria non-core assets to the appropriate agency to manage, sell and or deal with in any manner deemed necessary to complement Treasuring Funding of our pensions.

"We also demand payment of all outstanding entitlements of PHCN retirees from proceeds of the privatisation. These include gratutuities, death benefits, pension arrears, and monetisation and harmonisation arrears."