By Nkechinyere Ewa
The Ebonyi State Government has said the reported ₦7 million donation by Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma-Odii, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2027 governorship candidate in the state, to some retirees of Ebonyi State University (EBSU) does not constitute payment of their outstanding pensions and gratuities.
The commissioner for information and state orientation,Ikeuwa Omebe, in a press rejoinder on the controversy surrounding the donation, said humanitarian assistance to retirees should not be presented as settlement of statutory retirement benefits.
He said a donation of ₦100,000 to an individual retiree was fundamentally different from pension or gratuity payment, which required proper verification of service records, determination of entitlements and identification of the institution or authority legally responsible for settlement.
The statement followed comments attributed to the PDP and Odii concerning the reported ₦7 million donation to 216 EBSU retirees and claims over outstanding pension and gratuity payments.
According to the government, the plight of EBSU retirees should not be reduced to a political contest or used for partisan propaganda, stressing that the reported payment to the retirees did not amount to settlement of their outstanding retirement benefits.
The government said Ebonyi had approved the payment of pension and gratuity arrears to state and local government retirees, covering periods from 1996 to date, through a structured verification and payment process.
It, however, acknowledged that such interventions did not automatically establish that every individual claim by EBSU retirees had been settled.
The government said the appropriate approach was to establish the facts concerning each claimant, adding that the retirees, who are elderly men and women who served the university, deserved to have legitimate claims treated with dignity and urgency.
“EBSU retirees deserve solutions, not political theatre,” the government said, calling for a structured process involving the appropriate authorities, university management, retirees’ representatives and relevant government agencies.
The commissioner further disclosed that it was working with EBSU management and relevant unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), to streamline actions towards the smooth take-off of the pension scheme at the university.
The state government said it would not object to individuals assisting retirees from their personal resources but insisted on a distinction between charity and statutory responsibility.
The government urged urged Odii and the PDP to provide any documentation establishing the precise number of affected retirees, individual amounts allegedly owed, the basis of the claims and the institution legally responsible for their settlement.
The government said it was prepared to examine any properly documented and verified claim brought through the appropriate channel, while calling for restraint, accuracy and responsible public communication on the matter.
He maintained that every legitimate entitlement established through due verification should be addressed by the appropriate authority, while humanitarian interventions should be presented as such and not as substitutes for statutory retirement benefits.