‘We are most qualified for govt palliative’ — Pensioners beg for inclusion

The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) said the pensioners are the most vulnerable in the society to benefit from the palliative and relief materials being distributed to vulnerable Nigerians to alleviate their suffering as a result of COVID-19 lockdown across the country.

The NUP emphasized that the pensioners should be number one beneficiaries of any palliative by the government, if truly the effort was targeted at the vulnerable in the society; because they are the most vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic due to old age.

According to the General Secretary of the NUP, Elder Actor Zal, the lockdown and movement restriction would affect the elderly, who are mostly pensioners.

He, therefore, advised President Buhari to, through the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, include the pensioners as the government begins the distribution to the most vulnerable.

To ensure that the palliatives get to the real pensioners, the general secretary advised the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, to liaise with the National Secretariat of the NUP, in Abuja for proper identification through her state and local government offices.

The general secretary said: “The Nigeria union of pensioners (NUP) national headquarters has made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to include Nigerian pensioners as beneficiaries in the palliatives to the vulnerable Nigerians, to cushion the effects of the lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pensioners.”

The union noted that, “pensioners are one  of the most vulnerable in the country and therefore appealed to the presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to liaise with the union on how to get the palliative distribution to the real pensioners in all the nooks and crannies of the country.”

The statement noted that the union has wide spread membership and the required structure in all the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, Abuja, as well as in all the 774 local governments in Nigeria.

“Therefore, the union is well entrenched to ensure the distribution of the palliatives to their members at the grassroots with limited hitch.” the statement added.

The union said it has also written to the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Socio Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Faruk, on the imperative of including the pensioners in the palliative.

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