There was a mild drama yesterday in Kaduna when ex-military pensioners stormed a branch of a first generation bank located on
Ahmadu Bello Way in the state metropolis and demanded immediate payment of their December pension.
The ex-pensioners, in their hundreds, locked all the entrances of the bank to protest the non-payment of their pension, thereby holding customers hostage for hours.
The situation, which attracted the attention of passersby, caused a serious traffic jam within the metropolis.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, a pensioner, Alhaji Jaafaru Abdullahi said, “Our concern is that all banks in Kaduna have been paying pensioners, but this particular one has been refusing to pay.
Today is the last day of work and if we cannot get our pension it means we cannot get it till next week.
“We had gotten information that our monies have been lodged for the past one week, but this bank has refused to pay us. They are not giving us the monies free, it is not their money, and they have refused to pay us. Other banks have paid, only the UBA is a problem. Can’t they pity the Christians amidst us who want to go and celebrate Christmas and New Year with their families?
“They have been doing this for long, some people came from afar and we will not open the gates until our money is paid,” he said.
Sergeant Abdullahi Umar(rtd) also added, “This is the fourth time this bank has been doing this. They would refuse to pay us our money until after two weeks when our colleagues have been paid in other banks.? We have worked for this country, and some small boys and girls are playing with us anyhow. We will not open these gates until our money is paid.”
Also speaking to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, Corporal Abdullahi (rtd) said,
“What caused the problem is just our pension. For the past three days, we have been coming here; we followed the bankers with respect, hoping that our monies would be paid. What they are telling us is that they don’t know why other banks are paying, so we decided to close the gates until they pay us.”