By Nahum Sule (Taraba State Correspondent, in Jalingo)
Pensioners in Taraba state who have not been paid for 10 years, last week, commenced a 7-days prayers and fasting for God to ensure governor Darius Ishaku pays them before leaving office or loss his senatorial bid.
The pensioner's chairman, Comr. Silas Jafta, disclosed this to NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Newspaper correspondent last Thursday morning. He said the decision was to appeal to God to stop the governor from continuing his poor leadership style in the Senate after his wasted eight years as governor.
Jafta explained that the plight in which the governor has subjected pensioners to, was inhuman enough for them to seek God's face to stop the governor's political career in the state.
"We have resolved to embark on a 7-days prayers to appeal to God to ensure that governor Darius Ishaku lose his Senate bid. Our decision is due to the inhuman situation the governor has subjected us to.
"For ten years now, we have not been paid our entitlements as retirees of the Taraba state government. Some of our members have died because of the situation. We have written severally to the government through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly but the governor seems not to mind our plight.
"We have carried out peaceful demonstrations in demands for our legitimate entitlements but still no positive result. We were to go out for another protest yesterday (Wednesday 18/1/2023), but the security refused to approve our request to carry out the demonstration, obviously on the directives of the governor.
"Following the directive of the governor for the security to stop us from staging the protest, this has proven to us that he (governor Ishaku) does not mean well for us.
"It is very clear that governor Darius Ishaku is not a good leader, judging from how poorly he has performed as governor of Taraba state and the plight he has subjected us the pensioners to. Allowing him to proceed to the Senate after his woeful eight years of reign would be a disaster for Taraba state development.
"Our decision for a 7-days prayers against the governor's Senate bid is to save the state from further disaster of under development. We are appealing to God to please not allow governor Darius Ishaku to win the Senate seat. His winning would be a disaster against the development of this state but his loss would be a blessing for the people of Taraba", the chairman stated. NNL.
