Retirees protest 35 months’ unpaid pensions, demand FG action

Retirees under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), drawn from agencies including the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), on Monday staged a protest over the non-payment of their entitlements.

The protesters lamented that they were owed up to 35 months’ pension arrears in addition to the non-payment of the N35,000 palliative promised to cushion economic hardship.

They urged the Federal Government to provide a definite timeline for the settlement of their entitlements, stressing that the prolonged delay had subjected them to severe hardship.

ALSO READ: EEDC workers protest alledged intimidation, unlawful arrest of members in Anambra

In related development, another group of federal pensioners on Monday stormed the Lagos office of the Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate (PTAD) to demand the immediate implementation of a ₦32,000 pension increase approved by President Bola Tinubu last year.

Led by the chairman of the Coalition of Federal Pensioners, Lagos Chapter, Mukaila Ogunbote, the protesters accused the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, of delaying the payment despite the President’s recent directive to implement the long-overdue increment and provide a minimum pension guarantee.

The Liaison Officer of PTAD, Cashmir Audu, acknowledged that the increment had been approved but explained that the delay was due to a lack of funds.