ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Delta State Government has accused Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate and Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, of sponsoring local government pensioners protests against Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
But in a swift reaction, Senator Omo-Agege denied his involvement in the protest, Vanguard reports.
According to him, the pensioners protest was being propelled by hunger and urged the State Government to live up to its responsibilities to Deltans.
Speaking at a press briefing in Asaba at the weekend, the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, alleged that despite the efforts of the state government in assisting the local governments to defray their outstanding pension liabilities, Omo-Agege and the APC were bent on sponsoring protests on the matter to score cheap political points.
Aniagwu urged the general public to be wary of the protesters, saying that they were obviously playing the cards of their political sponsors.
He said that some of the retirees appreciate the effort of the state government in helping to clear the outstanding pension liabilities and remarked that a certain woman leader of the APC was being used to blackmail the Governor and paint him in bad light.
His words: “We have it on good authority that the All Progressives Congress (APC) have again engineered a protest that is billed to take place on Monday (today).
“You will recall that last time I briefed you on this issue, I told you about a lady who is the woman leader of the APC in one of our local governments.
“She is a retired local government staff who has continued to use her position in APC to mobilise a few other persons to protest against the government on account of the issue of outstanding pension liabilities.
“This is somebody who worked for the local government and as a state government we have continued to assist our local governments to meet up with a whole number of obligations in terms of paying salaries of their workers and at the same time assisting them in defraying liabilities owed their pensioners.
“This woman out of politics and inspite of the fact that her colleagues have continued to appreciate the effort of the state government towards ameliorating their plight by extending some grants to the local governments.”
Conversely, in a statement signed by Olorogun Ima Niboro, the Spokesman of the Delta State APC campaign council, Omo-Agege described the allegation as “baseless, unfounded and deserves no serious attention.
“Was it Omo-Agege that made them not pay pensions? Some have died or are dying in abject penury. Do you need anyone to sponsor hungry people to pour out on the streets?
“Okowa keeps chasing shadows, always leaving the real issues and blaming everyone for his incompetence and insensitivity to the plight of our people.
“Omo-Agege doesn’t need to sponsor anyone. Anger, bitterness and sheer suffering is sending people into the streets.
“We advise Okowa to change his ways. Delta State has never had it this bad.”