Pensioners of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) have appealed to the bank’s management to decentralise its 2026 verification exercise, saying it is unfair to subject elderly retirees to interstate travel barely a year after the last exercise.

Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), FMBN Unit, Raphael Akinniranye, told newsmen that the union was not opposed to verification but objected to the decision to conduct another physical exercise after the pensioners had been verified in 2025.

Akinniranye said FMBN had for years conducted pensioners’ verification every two years, arguing that changing the exercise to an annual process had placed unnecessary pressure on retirees, many of whom were above 70.

He said the current arrangement would require some pensioners travelling long distances, including from Makurdi to Jos, Kaduna to Maiduguri, Maiduguri to Abuja, Oshogbo to Ibadan and Ondo to Ibadan, despite the presence of FMBN offices across the states.

Recalling the death of a pensioner who travelled from Otukpo in Benue State to Jos, Plateau State, Akinniranye said the incident demonstrated the dangers of forcing elderly retirees to undertake long journeys.

He urged FMBN to use its existing state offices and introduce biometric or facial-recognition-based online verification to reduce the need for physical travel.

Akinniranye also called for hybrid verification for pensioners in Nigeria and the diaspora, while appealing to President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure that FMBN management protects the welfare and dignity of its elderly retirees.