The National Association of Pensioners (NUP) has expressed its appreciation to the federal government for approving a wage award of N25,000 for vulnerable pensioners. In addition, the union has made an appeal to the federal government to disburse the accumulated accrued rights to contributory pensioners, currently totaling approximately N140 billion,leadership reports.
This appeal was made during the commemoration of the 2023 Pensioners Day in Abuja, under the theme, “Subsidy Removal and its Negative Effects on the Lives of the Pensioners, Older Persons.”
Comrade Godwin Abumisi, the NUP national president, spoke with journalists at the event and urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Presidential Initiative Continuous Audit (PICA), a body under the Federal Ministry of Finance, to settle the outstanding balance of N33 billion owed to the former Nigeria Airways workers.
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Abumisi also called upon the current administration to prioritize the implementation and payment of the pension increment arrears, specifically the 15 percent, 33 percent, and consequential adjustments from 2007, 2010, and 2019, respectively, for pensioners enrolled in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
“The union commends the federal government for its dedication to the welfare of pensioners by approving a gracious wage award of N25,000 for vulnerable pensioners. We trust that the Hon. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, responsible for payment, will expedite the process without undue delay to alleviate the suffering of pensioners and older persons,” Abumisi stated.
He concluded by humbly appealing to the federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to take necessary steps to allocate funds for the omitted pension review of 2015, which would provide additional relief and bring smiles to pensioners nationwide.
