Pensioners Laud Federal Govt Over Wage Award, Seek N140bn Accrued Rights Payment

National Association of Pensioners (NUP) has commended the federal government for approving N25,000 as wage award to vulnerable pensioners.

The union appealed to the federal government to pay its members the accumulated accrued rights to the contributory pensioners which currently stands at about N140 billion.

The appeal came as the union celebrated the 2023 Pensioners Day in Abuja with the theme, “Subsidy Removal and its Negative Effects on the Lives of the Pensioners, Older Persons”.

NUP national president, Comrade Godwin Abumisi who spoke to journalist at the event, urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Presidential initiative continuous Audit (PICA), under the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay  the outstanding balance of N33 billion as a pay off to the liquidated Nigeria Airways workers.

Abumisi also called on the present administration to see to the implementation and payment of the arrears of pension increment of 15 percent, 33 percent and the consequential adjustment of 2007, 2010 and 2019 respectively to pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

“The union wishes to commend the federal government for its commitment to the welfare of the pensioners by graciously approving N25,000 as wage award to vulnerable pensioners. We trust that the Hon. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs who is entrusted with the responsibility of handling the payment would expedite action on the payment without further delay in order to assuage the pains and sufferings of the pensioners/Older Persons”.

We therefore humbly appeal to the federal government under the able leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to come to our aid by putting in place necessary government instruments towards making funds available for the payment of this omitted pension review of 2015 which would serve as another form of palliatives, to put smile on the faces of the benefitting pensioners across the country”, he said.