Hardship: NUP calls on Tinubu for help, says retirees suffering

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is pleading with the Federal Government for urgent action to address the severe economic challenges facing the nation’s elderly population.

During a press conference held at the union’s national headquarters, in Abuja, pensioners expressed frustrations over the skyrocketing cost of living exacerbated by the abrupt removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu.

The subsidy removal, which was meant to stabilise the economy, they said has instead led to widespread suffering for Nigeria’s most vulnerable, particularly pensioners who live on fixed and now inadequate incomes.

The pensioners decried the fuel price hikes that have triggered hyperinflation, resulting in skyrocketing prices for essential goods and services.

Comrade Godwin .I. Abumisi, National President of the NUP said: “It is obvious that the Nigerian pensioners and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria are worse hit by the subsidy removal, which has caused an astronomical rise in the prices of goods and services.”

The elderly, who rely on their pensions to survive, now find themselves unable to afford basic necessities. For many pensioners, their already modest monthly pensions have become practically worthless amid the rapid inflation.

Pensioners are also disillusioned by the government’s failure to deliver on its promise of a N25,000 palliative. The Federal Government had announced this aid to help mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal, but pensioners say they have been overlooked. “The Federal Government has yet to honour its promise of the N25,000 palliative and six-month wage awards to pensioners,” lamented Abumisi.

The union expressed disappointment with how pensioners have been systematically neglected, stating that promises of support have remained mere rhetoric.

In light of the current economic crisis, the NUP has called on the Federal Government to address the disparity in how it compensates workers and pensioners. The union has recommended that the government adjust pensions in line with the newly introduced minimum wage of N70,000, suggesting that pensioners receive the same 110 percent wage increase as civil servants.

“As far as the pensioners’ union is concerned, it is discriminatory to approve 110 percent for workers and give pensioners less in the same economy. If the idea behind the minimum wage increase is to help workers cope with inflation, then pensioners, who are also affected, deserve the same relief,” said Abumisi.

The NUP did not mince words in criticising the government’s economic policies, particularly the fuel subsidy removal. According to the union, the Federal Government’s approach has been ill-conceived and poorly executed, leaving millions of Nigerians impoverished.

They pointed out that rather than providing solutions, the government’s policies have deepened the economic divide. Pensioners and ordinary Nigerians are being driven into “early graves,” said the NUP, as a result of the financial pressure they now face.

The union also highlighted the need for pensioner leaders to be actively involved in decision-making processes, particularly those related to social welfare.

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