KEY POINTS
- By December 16, 2024, pensioners must get 21 months of unpaid accrued rights.
- Pension increments from 2007, 2010, 2019, and 2024 are yet to be effected, unpaid.
- Federal offices are to be occupied by retirees until their grievances are answered.
The Federal Government has been given an ultimatum by Federal retirees on the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to release 21 months unpaid accrued rights and outstanding pension increments by December 16, 2024.
The pensioners whose grievances date back as far as March this year have threatened to occupy the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in Abuja until their demands are met.
The retirees, in a petition to the Coordinating Minister of Finance and National Economy, Wale Edun, decried the delay in fulfilling promises it made during a peaceful rally, which held on November 12, 2024, for ‘the payment of their gratuity’. The minister’s initial response was welcomed, but they said their pensions are still going unpaid.
Retirees’ Key Demands
The pensioners are pressing for:
– Accrued rights shall be payable immediately from March 2023 till November 2024.
– Settlement of unpaid pension increments, including:
– 15% increase (2007).
– 33% increase (2010).
Adjustment with friction after the 2019 national minimum wage increase.
– 20-28% increase (2024).
– The CPS sector should be declared in state of emergency for the purpose of government liabilities.
The union leadership said this action has the nationwide mandate of retirees under the CPS and it is not ready to back down until its demands are met.
More than 400 pensioners plan to Occupy the Ministry of Finance
In a statement, the retirees have said they will take over the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General as their base starting December 16, 2024 from 12pm until the government fulfils its obligations.
The union, which said inaction will attract global attention to the plight of Nigerian pensioners, added: “We cannot allow senior citizens who served this country to continue to suffer neglect.”
The looming protest points to the desperate need of the government to redeem its pension liability, which will bring the retirees their dignity and financial security.
