ILed Protest During Ortom Five Times, Those Accusing Me Of Inciting Pensioners Against Alia Are Ignorant- NUP Chair

Chairman Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Benue State chapter comrade Michael Vembe has argued that those accusing him of inciting pensioners to protest when the present administration is trying to bring smiles on faces of the senior citizens were speaking out of ignorance.
Comrade Vembe who made his position known while reacting to the accusations during an interview with National trail in Makurdi, at the weekend recalled that when Samuel Ortom the immediate past governor described as his kinsman was governor, he led a protest to government house over five times.
The Benue NUP Chairman who equally recalled that the senior citizens under his leadership even slept in government house during one of the protests, said it was their action that even prompted governor Ortom then to direct that retirees between 2012,2013,2014 and 2015 be captured on government payroll, insisting that those levelling such allegations against him were totally ignorant of developments at the NUP or the way he has piloted affairs of the Union as Chairman.
” Governor Ortom became very worried of my activities such that the day we slept at government house when he woke up the following day, he confronted me that Vembe, Vembe, Vembe, you are the one leading protest against me? ” the Benue NUP boss told Aljazirah, insisting that those wrongly accusing him were only politicking as he is elected as Chairman of the Union to lead pensioners and not for brotherhood.
Giving an update as promised pensioners when his leadership commenced negotiations with government,comrade Vembe revealed that government has already released May pensions through the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs for payment of Local Government pensioners who are owed 96 months of pension arrears.
He said the major problem his leadership has been fighting to rectify was to ensure that Local Government pensioners are also paid the months of May, June and July like their state government counterparts, expressing optimism that with the determination and commitment shown by the Alia led administration, Local Government pensioners will begin to collect what belongs to them from next week and called on pensioners in the state to be patient with government.
Comrade Vembe also explained that the union has not even started talking regarding its request on government to clear backlog of pension arrears of 96 and 40 months pension arrears for Local and State Government retirees, stressing that what the union is concerned about presently is for the government to pay the three months pension to Local Government retirees like it has done in the case of state pensioners.
Comrade Vembe who commended Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia for following his vision by remembering the senior citizens in his payment schedule, advised the governor not to abandon payment of pensions no matter the challenges.
He also advised the governor to involve the union leadership in his programmes especially issues concerning the union for better inputs to move it forward and appealed that the governor equally clear pension arrears when things improve for pensioners to also live happily as human beings.