Subsidy removal : Ekiti pensioners lament, demand upward review of monthly pension

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The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in Ekiti state has lamented the negative impact of the fuel subsidy removal by the federal government on its members in the state.

The NUP chairman, Joel Akinola, spoke on Thursday during a special prayer session organized by the union seeking God’s divine wisdom and guidance for the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

He explained that there is a need for the state government to put in place measures towards increasing the monthly pension of the retirees, noting that the economic effect of the subsidy for members is excruciating.

Akinola, who lamented that some members of the union receive as little as N500 as pension monthly, said the government at all levels must prioritize their plights when rolling out palliatives to cushion the effect of the hardship being faced as a result of hike in the price of fuel.

He said, “Government should see us as special projects, we deserve better attention because we are the fowl that laid the golden eggs. In hospitals, there should be a special desk for pensioners where we can access treatment easily because we are vulnerable.

“We have invested in the future, and we should be allowed to enjoy it now, it’s our due and our right, we deserve to be paid even with interest.

“ It is sad that we still have pensioners collecting between N500 and N5000 in this state, and looking at the situation now where a litre of petrol goes for N500, only God knows how much people will survive.

“ We are the worst hit by the fuel subsidy removal; it is a double tragedy for us, and we want the government to, as a matter of urgency, increase our monthly pension, this is very important. It is this old age that will need financial assistance the most.”

The chairman, who commended Governor Oyebanji on his efforts at improving the welfare of pensioners since his assumption of office, revealed that the administration has paid almost N1 billion as outstanding pension and gratuities.

He lampooned previous administrations in the state for abandoning their plights, saying, “When they were in government, they enjoyed everything, but we now know that past leaders have been our problem as pensioners in the state.”

According to him, “We won’t tolerate the excuse that government does not have funds, because we see what past governments used our money for in Ekiti, many politicians and the governor were growing fat and went home with billions of naira but deliberately ignored our outcries as if we never mattered.

” Though Governor Oyebanji has been doing well, at least he has paid several tranches out of our gratuities and has also paid part of the outstanding pension and deductions which Governor Fayemi failed to pay us.

“But as much as we appreciate what he has done, we still hope that he will do better, and that is why we have gathered to pray for him and seek God’s wisdom for him to be able to do all that is right all the time.”

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