Environment, Health

THE Delta Government says it has committed N1.1 billion monthly to paying retired civil servants their pensions.

The State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, disclosed on Friday in Asaba at a news briefing.

He was in the company of Dr Ben Nkechika, Director General, Delta State Contributory Health Commission.

Aniagwu also disclosed that the state government had commenced the enrollment of the more than 25,000 flood victims across the state into the State Health Insurance Scheme.

He said this would enable them to access free medical care.

He noted that the pension funds were channelled to the retirees under the old pension scheme and the contributory pension scheme.

He said grants were also given to the local government councils to enable them to settle their workers pensions.

He said that in spite of the state government efforts and commitment to tackling the pension issues, certain group of LGA workers had been sponsored by the opposition to protest against non-payment of outstanding pensions.

He said that the Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa-led government has planned to give N10 billion to the LGAs to defray the backlog of the pensions.

According to him, the responsibility of the local government workers lies directly with the councils and not the state government,

On the enrolment of the flood victims, the commissioner said it was not to achieve political points but to ensure that the victims accessed free healthcare services.

Aniagwu said that Okowa had gone round the camps to provide relief materials, “but the governor believes that man does not live by bread alone“.

“By the time they (flood victims) leave this camp, it is possible for them to take care of their healthcare needs. These are persons that are rich and government needs to meet them halfway.

“When they go back to their homes, there will be challenges of rebuilding their homes.

“Government will not be in a position to do a number of things for them. But Okowa has said health is wealth, there is need to be healthy for them to begin to engage in other things,“ he said.

On his part, Nkechika said that the health insurance scheme, which started in Jan. 2017, had no fewer than 1.2 million enrollees in 500 healthcare facilities across the state.

He said that the premium was free for the flood victims, adding that the resources used to defray their premium was from the Federal Government, as well as  the state government.

“Unlike other enrollees who are expected to pay N7,000 annually, government would be responsible for the payment of the premium for the flood victims.

“The beneficiaries will continue to enjoy free healthcare services, even after leaving the camp, for the next one year,” he said.

Nkechika said that the essence of health insurance was to provide accessible healthcare to all residents of the state, irrespective of socio-economic status or geographical locations. (NAN)

A.I

Tags: Dr Ben Nkechika Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa Mr Charles Aniagwu