The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, on Thursday, asked for the formation of a new Ministry to address the plights of pensioners.
The union stated that governors of the South-West states were owing retirees their gratuities and pensions amounting to a trillion naira.
The South-West zone of NUP made the call following their quarterly meeting, held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The conference was attended by the chairman and secretaries of the Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Lagos and Ekiti chapters of the organization.
Addressing the media following the meeting, the zonal Public Relations Officer of NUP, South-West, Olusegun Abatan, said the foundation of the Ministry will transform the fortunes of pensioners in the nation.
He asked all governors in the zone to adopt the consequential adjustment and 35 per cent rise in pensions.
Abatan stated, “I want to mention sadly that the position of retirees in other states in the South-West has remained the same.”
“The governors of Ogun, Ekiti and Osun have remained unyielding and insensitive to the plights of pensioners such that the gratuities of pensioners in many of these states were paid last in the year 2012 and they are owing arrears of pensions, gratuities and other entitlements, including gratuities and entitlements to the next of kin of deceased pensioners,” he alleged.
He said the governors needed to have a change of heart and step up their involvement in the concerns of retirees.
“We want to urge to these governors in the name of whatever they worship to do anything genuinely about harmonisation of the pension of our pensioners,” he continued.
Abatan also urged the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to do more for pensioners than what the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) had done in the previous seven years.
“We beg the President-elect to kindly take the subject of pensioners more seriously than what President Muhammadu Buhari has been doing.
“Buhari has done quite a lot for pensioners, he may not have done well in other areas of administration, but he truly assisted pensioners and so we are calling to Tinubu to please consider the subject of pensioners as a serious thing.
“We want a special Ministry to be constituted to serve the interest of pensioners under the administration of Tinubu.”
