….As Union Celebrates Pension Day in Abuja
From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The National President, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Godwin Abumisi has called on Mr.President and State Governors to release bailout funds to the State Governments to settle all the outstanding pension accrued to pensioners across the country.
“As the president of the Union, these neglect gives me sleepless nights, especially when legitimate and legal rights are denied to these senior citizens. Let me call on Mr. President and the Governors forum to put this matter as one of the priority of the government to release bailout funds to the State Governments to settle all the outstanding pension accrued to Pensioners across the country,” he stated.
The NUP National President made
the call during pensioners day celebration at the weekend in Abuja observed that significant number of pensioners in the state and local governments across the country have died without enjoying the fruits of their labour as a result of non-payment of their monthly pensions for many years and total denial of gratuities.
These pensioners he said are also denied enjoying pension five yearly review or increment as provided in the 1999 constitution and other extant pension laws as enjoyed by their federal counterparts. Noting that the retirement benefits of Pensioners owned by many states are running into trillions of naira.
Comrade Abumisi further appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to come to their aid by putting in place necessary government instruments towards making funds available for the payment of omitted pension review of 2015 which he said would serve as another form of palliatives to put smile on the faces of the Pensioners in the country.
According to him, the past administration under President Muhammadu Buhari approved the payment of the various pension review of 2015 but regrettably he said the review was omitted and has suffered series of setback as it was not been paid.
On the issue of non-payment of outstanding balance of N33 billion to the retired Nigeria Airways workers, the National President of NUP recalled that the Federal Government in its wisdom decided to liquidate the Nigeria Airways in 2004 of which both the workers and the existing Pensioners were paid off by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
The pay off he said was calculated and put at N78billions being the total liability.
He, however, explained that out of the N78billion , the sum of N45 billion was released and paid by the last administration, leaving a balance of N33 billion unsettled.
Comrade Godwin while appealing to the present administration in line with its”Renewed Hope Agenda”to kindly rise to the occasion by directing the Presidential initiative Continuous Audit (PICA), under the Federal Ministry of Finance with the responsibility of handling the payment to expedite action on the payment without further delay, he also called on the Federal Government to order the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission to find a way out of the non-implementation of Arrears of Pension Increment of 15 per cent, 33percent and the Consequential Adjustment of 2007, 2010 and 2019 respectively to Pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).3
