Grateful Retirees Applaud Gov. Eno’s Pension Reforms, Promise Support for Continuity in Governance

Tony Okoh, Uyo

Impressed by the further reduction of their accumulated pensions spanning over 12 years, the Retired Primary School Teachers Forum in Akwa Ibom State has expressed deep gratitude to Governor Umo Eno for his kind intervention.

The retired teachers, who had earlier threatened to protest over the continued delay in the payment of their gratuities and pensions, described Governor Umo Eno as “the most magnanimous governor the state has ever had.” They said the recent release of funds to all categories of retirees came as a huge relief.

In a press statement endorsed by Rev. Dr. Felix Cooley, Chairman of the Forum, the group assured the governor of their strong resolve to work assiduously toward the success of his re-election in 2027.

The retirees, who described the governor as “a man who fears and worships God,” urged him to sustain the tempo of development across the state. They added that his commitment to human capital development and the welfare of citizens remains unparalleled.

They also used the opportunity to appeal for further intervention in the payment of pensions owed to primary school retirees from 2015 to 2020, noting that the 2015 batch has the highest outstanding arrears of more than 10 months across the state.

Governor Umo Eno, at a recent event, reiterated that his administration is civil service–friendly.

He recalled that he inherited gratuity arrears of ₦110 billion covering 2012 to May 2023, and has, within two and a half years, cleared ₦75.2 billion of that backlog.

“This month alone, I released another ₦1.3 billion. We have cleared arrears from 2012 to March 2021. We have two years left — 2022 and 2023 — before we start clearing obligations accrued under our own tenure,” he stated.

He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting the state with resources for capital and recurrent obligations, adding that such interventions have made ongoing development possible.

On labour relations, he noted that Akwa Ibom enjoys one of the most cooperative labour–government partnerships in the country, stressing that salaries and pensions have remained timely.