For pensioners in Kogi state, North Central Nigeria, it’s a case of double jeopardy as not only do they have to cry and groan for their pensions which does not come regularly, they also now have to ‘bribe’ desk officers in charge of pension matters before collecting their money.

Speaking to some selected journalists in Lokoja the state capital today, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state Comrade Onuh Edoka said it came to the notice of the Congress that some desk officers across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state demand as much as N50, 000 from these retirees before their pension payment could be processed.

“NLC also gathered that the suspected desk officers are collecting within the range of N20, 000 to N50, 000 from these retirees.

“We have gone to enlighten some of this officers that this people are their colleagues and it is only time that has made them to retire now and they should stop exploiting them because they too will retire someday maybe not as a desk officer in charge of retirement. That means they should be expecting those who will exploit them tomorrow.

”Workers in Kogi State should know what all of us are facing currently, where salaries are not too regular, where salaries are paid in a very low percentage, of about 25 per cent to Teachers and even Local Government workers and you are asking your colleagues to go and bring three times what he is earning as percentage salaries, it is inhuman.

“How do they now have justification to blame other persons in government that their policies are draconian? When even government has not given such policies and you are already implementing it against your colleagues. This is total wickedness and should be condemned,” he said.