‘209 Of Us Have Died, Others Still Dying’: Ebonyi University Retirees Cry Out Over Years Of Unpaid Pensions, Gratuities | Sahara Reporters

The retirees, some of whom appeared visibly frail and ill in the video, said their inability to access their pensions and gratuities had left many of them struggling to afford food, medication and their children’s education.

Retired workers of Ebonyi State University have cried out over years of non-payment of their pensions and gratuities, saying hundreds of former staff members have died while waiting for benefits they earned after decades of service.

The retirees made the disclosure in a video posted online by activist Chuks Eric, in which several former workers appealed to the Ebonyi State Government and the management of the university to pay their outstanding retirement benefits.

The retirees, some of whom appeared visibly frail and ill in the video, said their inability to access their pensions and gratuities had left many of them struggling to afford food, medication and their children’s education.

One of the retirees, Okpoye Okoro, said as many as 209 former staff members had died as of the time the group compiled its records, while several others were still battling illnesses.

“Many of us have died, up to 209 as of the time we recorded it. Some are still dying. Very many are still sick,” Okoro said.

He said the retirees had worked for the university under the expectation that their retirement benefits would be paid after years of service, but claimed that the government and university management had failed to fulfil the obligation.

“The issue is that the government and the management of the university have not paid us our retirement benefits,” he said.

“It is very callous and wicked of them to allow people to just retire and you keep quiet about it. You engage people in a public institution, in a state-owned university to work and after working and retiring, you’ll be paid.”

Okoro questioned why workers who had spent their active years serving the institution would be left without their retirement benefits after leaving service.

He said the retirees were not asking for special treatment but wanted the entitlements they were promised when they entered employment.

Another retiree gave a particularly emotional account of his situation, saying he had spent more than three decades working at the university before retiring without receiving his pension or gratuity.

He said he commenced work on February 17, 1992, and retired on September 1, 2025.

“I started this job on 17 February 1992. My retirement is 1 September 2025. From that time till now, I have not received any payment, my gratuity and retirement,” he said.

He, who is now blind, said he lost his sight while still working at the university and depended on his wife to assist him in carrying out his duties.

“From my work, my sickness came to me, my blindness. Without my wife, I cannot go and teach,” he said.

He described his dependence on his wife as an indication of the difficult circumstances in which he had continued working despite his condition.

According to him, he had no financial backup to support himself after retirement.

Another retiree complained that former workers had been subjected to repeated explanations and promises concerning their benefits.

He said the retirees were educated enough to understand the meaning of the terms being used by the university and government officials when discussing their retirement benefits.

“After 23 years of service here, it is plain that the management who has gone over this, who has been told a lot of lies, defining things abnormally, redefining consolidation, we are not illiterates,” he said.

“We know the meaning of consolidation. Telling us they were consolidated and paid to us through our salaries. They are lies. They should do something.”

He said the retirees had devoted their productive years to the institution and should not be abandoned after retirement.

“Look at these men who burned their lives serving the state,” he said.

He also complained about his deteriorating health, saying both of his legs had become swollen and that he could no longer walk freely.

“I have two swollen legs. And I was an agile man. I could jump. I could walk fast. But now, there is no ability to walk again because of the two bad legs,” he said.

“And the legs are swollen. I am in bondage now. I don’t walk freely as a man.”

The retiree then made an emotional appeal to the authorities to pay the benefits while the former workers were still alive.

“You won’t pay us when we are dead. No. So pay us now that we are alive,” he said.

“You can see that I am deteriorating. This is not how I used to be. Because the government refused to give me my entitlements.”

Another retiree said the failure to receive her retirement benefits had affected not only her but also her family.

She said her husband was seriously ill and that the family could not afford the cost of his treatment.

“My husband is very, very sick. No money to take care of him,” she said.

She appealed to the Ebonyi State Government to intervene in the situation of the retirees.

“So I am appealing to the government. Please, tender mercy upon us. All the retirees. We are suffering so much,” she said.

She also appealed to the state governor to consider the plight of former university workers who, according to her, had spent years serving the state.

“We are pleading to God Almighty to touch the heart of the Ebonyi State Governor to tender mercy upon us,” she said.

One of the retirees said he had spent 43 years working for the university before retiring without receiving his pension or gratuity.

“Since that time I retired, we have not been paid either pension or gratuity. Up to now and we are dying,” he said.

“Good 43 years in service of a university. I went home with nothing.”

He explained that even a relatively small monthly pension could make a significant difference to retirees because it would provide them with a predictable source of income.

“I keep telling people pension may be as small as N20,000. But the moment somebody has that hope that at the end of the month it will drop, it gives hope. It can sustain life,” he said.

He described the alleged failure to pay the retirees as unacceptable and appealed to the university authorities and the state government to settle the outstanding benefits.

“So what they are doing to us is not proper. It is malicious,” he said.

He added, “Please, the governor is a compassionate governor. We are appealing to the governor and the university authority to pay us our entitlement. Pension and gratuity. Pay us our rights because we are due for it.”

Another retiree who spoke in the video said the failure to receive his benefits had left him unable to afford basic necessities.

“Nobody to buy drugs. My condition is bad. Please, pay me. The government cannot pay my gratuity and pension,” he said.

He said his financial difficulties had also affected his children’s education.

“And as of now I cannot feed myself. I cannot pay my school fees. And it is a challenge,” he said.

“After my retirement I cannot pay the school fees of my children.”

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