The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Benue State Chapter, has disclosed that they will use their one-month pension to purchase a governorship nomination form for the governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, to contest again come 2027.
The pensioners made their intention known through their chairman, Mike Vembeh, during the presentation of a letter of commendation to the chief medical director (CMD) of Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) Makurdi, Dr. Stephen Hwande, for commencing free medical services for pensioners in the state. He explained that the purchasing of the 2027 governorship form for the governor is to thank him for bringing them back to life, describing the gesture as the first of its kind.
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According to Vembeh, they are going to purchase the governorship nomination form for Governor Alia for bringing them back to life after being pronounced dead by the previous administrations, adding that they are happy but will be happier if the governor is back come 2027.
Vembeh also appealed to the CMD to extend the free medical services to pensioners at the local government to enable all its members, especially those in hard-to-reach areas, to enjoy such services.
According to him, “We are also appealing to the Governor to also upgrade our monthly pension just as he did to civil servants in the State to match with the economic reality of today because some of the pensioners are collecting as low as N2,000 monthly, which cannot even buy their drugs.”
He said, “The pensioners you are seen here were selected from the three senatorial districts of the state just to witness the presentation of the letter of commendation to the CMD and report back to those who could not make it, and we want to say we are grateful for the subsidy given to our members to access free medical services.
“We want to thank the Governor for the choice of Hwande as the CMD of BSUTH, a man who has the plight of pensioners at heart. Even when he was working as a private doctor, he organised free treatment for pensioners with his personal resources, where so many of them were treated for varying diseases and given drugs.”
The chairman also appealed to the governor to commence the payment of the inherited 96-month arrears owed to local government pensioners and 42-month arrears owed to state pensioners by the previous governments.
Earlier, the CMD, Dr Hwande, explained that the gesture of free medical services to pensioners is to complement the good work the governor is doing for the masses, saying a committee has already been put in place to ensure hitch-free access to medication by every certified pensioner, even as he said, “gone are the days of playing politics with the lives of pensioners.”
While appealing to the chairman to ensure that all certified pensioners get identification cards for easy access, Dr. Hwande said he would discuss the issues of the extension of its services to local governments with the governor to see if it can also be done at the general hospitals across the state.