By Peter Onyekachukwu 
From Peter Onyekachukwu
Pensioners in Cross River State have issued a shocking ultimatum, threatening to deposit the bodies of any member who dies while waiting for unpaid pension arrears at the office of the State Accountant-General in Calabar.
The threat came during a protest march on Tuesday, which saw retirees walk from the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) campus in Calabar South to the Accountant-General’s office in Calabar Municipality.
The demonstration was organized by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of non-teaching staff unions at the university, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
NASU Chairman and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) state secretary, Comrade Odong Bassey Ekeh, told journalists that the protest was a desperate measure to highlight the plight of retirees.
“Our grievance is that a system exists for pensions to be computed, audited, and paid, but no payment has been made since June this year,” Ekeh said, lamenting the ongoing suffering of retirees.
He decried the hardship faced by many, noting that several pensioners have died in poverty without receiving their entitlements. He described the treatment as “ill-treatment” and urged Governor Bassey Otu to intervene urgently.
The protesters accused the Accountant-General’s office of delaying payments under the pretext of seeking gubernatorial approval, questioning why routine pension processing should take months.
“We are not asking for favours; we are demanding our rights,” Ekeh emphasized. “The government funds the university, so it must ensure that retirees are paid their pensions and gratuities.”
The pensioners warned that if their demands are not met, they would escalate their protest to the national level, highlighting growing concerns over retirees’ welfare in the state.
Earlier this year, Governor Bassey Otu had announced that his administration released N10 billion to offset pension and gratuity backlogs dating back to 2013.
The protest underscores mounting frustration among Cross River retirees and renewed calls for prompt government action to clear pension arrears.