Delta State Government has appealed to retirees in the state over delayed payment of their pension benefits promising that the government is working hard to resolve the problem. The Secretary to State Government, Mr. Festus Agas, stated this during a press briefing organised by Ministry of Information.

Agas said payment of workers that retired under the old pension scheme is up to date while that of workers on contributory scheme has remained challenging at the moment. He also revealed that the government has been releasing the sum of three hundred million naira every month towards defraying the commitment to them.

“The payment of the accrued claims from the old scheme into new scheme has been a challenge because of the huge outlay of funds required. Besides, this administration has the credit of consistently setting aside the sum of three hundred million Naira every month for this purpose,” Agas said. He appealed most graciously to retirees involved with this claim to bear with the government as it works hard to resolve the actuarial valuation shortly and thereafter, find a way forward to defraying it.

Speaking also on the widows support scheme which is the continuous engagement with the grass roots to help deepen government commitment to the total wellbeing of the vulnerable in our polity, he said that widows have been identified as falling within the bracket of vulnerable persons needing intervention.

“By this programme, the state government has created a pool of twenty widows per ward spreading through two hundred and seventy wards in the state bringing the total beneficiaries to five thousand four hundred with each of the beneficiary receiving a payment of five thousand naira monthly to ameliorate their conditions,” he added.