By Michael Oche
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), on Monday said the removal of subsidy of petrol has further impoverished and pauperized vulnerable Nigeria pensioners who are already struggling and battling for survival
The Union therefore urged that the Federal Government must include pensioners in the planned palliatives package, being one of the low-income earners in the country.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, NUP president Comrade Godwin Abumisi, also said going by the current economic reality, the Federal Government should consider an upward review of pension as it commences an upward review of salaries of the Civil Servants.
He said there should be a departure from the prevailing practice where such circulars of review of salary and pensions are issued separately at different times, leaving the pensioners struggling to obtain their own circular for the corresponding payment.
“This practice must be stopped as pensioners are workers in retirement, who are also entitled to decent living conditions in line with the popular saying that “what is good for the goose is also good for the gander”, he said.
He said further that, “It is on record that the poorest of the poor in Nigeria today are resident in our rural communities where many families are not sure of a square meal in a day. It is also on record that there is no rural community in Nigeria, being it ward, village or hamlet that you cannot find pensioners/retirees who are struggling daily with poverty and hunger, alongside the rural populace, due to low pension earnings or non-payment of their monthly pension or pending gratuity, and in most cases, backlog of arrears of their pensions.
“Given the above scenario and for equitable reasons, if the Federal Government wishes to achieve its objective of the cash transfer to the poor, using the much touted social registers, it must consider the involvement and participation of those organized Unions/Associations that have the records/statistics (data base) of their members resident in both urban and rural areas, most especially the Pensioners’ Union (NUP), Market Women Organizations, the Physically Challenged Persons and other Professional Bodies. The leaders of the Unions/Bodies who are very visible could be easily held responsible and accountable in the event of any infractions or shortchanging of their members in accessing such funds.”
He also said pensioners across board must also be considered for the proposed six months tax-free payment to public servants for 6 months as well as the payment of all outstanding liabilities to public/civil servants.
He said the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) pensioners under PTAD are being owed various pension liabilities, including the 2015 pension increment which the Union has been consistently pressing for its payment but to no avail.
“Also worth mentioning is the pending liabilities of our members under the Contributory (Mandatory) Pension Scheme who have been short-changed of the 15% of the 2007 pension review, 33% of the 2010 pension review, omission of 2015 pension review and the consequential adjustment of 2019.
“We believe whole-heartedly that if the above pension reviews are paid to our members as part of the proposed palliatives, it will go a long way to ameliorate the living conditions of our members who will have cause to smile once again to the credit of the Tinubu-led Federal Government,” he said.
