Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) Anambra State council, has appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo and the Anambra State Head of Service, HoS, Barr. Theodora Igwegbe, to ensure Pensioners conduct their elections without interference by some disgruntled elements trying to use the Anambra Pensioners for selfish interests.
According to a letter by the leadership of NUP in Anambra State, the election will be conducted in clear observance of the NUP constitution and with approval from the NUP national secretariat in Abuja.
Chairman and Secretary of NUP in the State, Comrade Dr. Anthony Ugozor, and Comrade Alexander B.C. Ubani, respectively signed the letter to the government, requesting for non-interference as the grundnorm of the union is the constitution which they are adhering strictly.
They accused a faceless body of unrecognized individuals by name ‘Association of Retired Directors of Anambra State Civil Service’ as constituting nuisance to hijack the activities of the Anambra State Pensioners for opposition politicians to use.
According to their NUP Anambra letter to national secretariat of NUP dated 5th February, 2025, tracing the journey of NUP in Anambra State since 2016 and appointment of Comrade Ugozor among other allegations by the Association of Retired Directors of Anambra State Civil Service, NUP Anambra informed that the retired directors are unknown to the law and should not exist to demand unnecessary discriminatory classification aimed at jumbo pension for retired directors alone.
While dismissing all the allegations by the retired directors, NUP Anambra said it has achieved much for Pensioners in Anambra as Pensioners receive their pension as and when due. Whereas other states owe Pensioners; NUP Anambra attracted N12,000 to Pensioners for 4 months with retired directors also benefiting; as well as a national award in 2021 from NUP national secretariat for consistency and valuable contributions to the NUP growth as well as pension increase by N10,000 since October 2024 even with retired directors with ulterior motive to use Pensioners Union to fight Soludo led government benefiting too.
NUP Anambra State insisted it will never support discriminatory classification of Pensioners to favour the retired directors masquerading as a Pensioners body whereas the Association is not known to the law.
They recalled that the same Association of Retired Directors instigated a suit against the Union in disguise as Association of Retired Civil/public servants of Anambra State stalling activities of the union in the the state since 2017 only to withdraw it in 2020 and allegedly started again to derail the union.
NUP said it refused to co-opt the members submitted by the retired directors into the NUP Anambra because of their penchant to fight the government of the day unnecessarily as witnessed by their newspaper publications ordering with deadline to review pension without recurse to the NUP as a registered union with NLC Anambra State and their unwarranted call for sack of the NUP leadership from outside, saying it will be disastrous to bring them inside.
They wondered where the Association of Retired Directors derives their powers in inviting a sitting NUP Anambra chairman and Secretary to its illegal meeting to instigate a war with the Prof Soludo-led administration over pension review and associated matters, only to fight the NUP for refusing to kowtow to its bidding of pension harmonization and upward review, describing their actions as illegal and unconstitutional by people without the knowledge of labour laws and trade union act.
The Association of Retired Directors of Anambra State Civil Service led by Sir Fidelis C. Ezeike as chairman and Sir Azuka Okeke as secretary had written the national president of Nigeria Union of Pensioners accusing Comrade Anthony Ugozor of turning the NUP Anambra State to family business by appointing his son as finance officer, rejection of their representative, Dr D.I. Obele to the NUP executive, populating NUP Anambra at all levels with retired secondary and primary school teachers among others.
But ,the national headquarters of NUP in Abuja after thorough investigation gave comrade Ugozor a clean bill and asked him to continue his work in Anambra State NUP in accordance with NUP constitution as government does not run NUP.
