Federal civil service retirees demand harmonised, increased pensions

Retired federal civil service workers, under the aegis of Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS), have appealed to the Federal Government not only to urgently harmonise their pensions but also raise their pensions upward.

The retirees, who noted that government had contrary to provisions of the Constitution not reviewed their pensions since 2010, faulted the latter for not acting during recent implementation of 30 per cent minimum wage for workers.

In a statement released to the media in Abuja yesterday through their National Chairman, Sunday Omezi, the retirees said that the Federal Government should harmonise pensions of its retired workers just as it did in the military in January 2019.

Omezi, who regretted that some pensioners were still receiving paltry N4,000 monthly pensions, asked that government should increase pension to a minimum of N25,000 against the N4,000 being in place at the moment.

He, therefore, appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to look into the pensioners’ plights.

He condemned the disparity in the payment of pensions to those who are retiring now and their colleagues who retired before the approved new wage.