Lagos State Commissioner for Establishments and Training, Afolabi Ayantayo, yesterday, assured protesting state’s pensioners that government was doing everything to meet their requests.

He gave the assurance, while addressing pensioners at Alausa, who gathered under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (Lagos State Chapter branch) to demonstrate against non-implementation of their demands.

While stating that the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was passionate about the welfare of pensioners, Ayantayo said the governor was out of the country and assured them that their demands would be forwarded to him for his consideration and approval as soon as he returns.

He stated that pensioners would start seeing the result of the positive steps being taken by the state government in the coming weeks and pleaded for their understanding in the resolution of the matter.

Ayantayo said a meeting of stakeholders, which included himself, the Head of Service, Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Office, representatives from the Ministry of Establishments and Training held yesterday where they deliberated over the matter.

He said: “We agreed to meet on 17th November, 2023 when Mr. Governor would have returned to get a briefing and proffer solution to the request made by the Pensioners”.

Some of the of the demands by the pensioners include strict compliance with the constitutional provisions that state pension be increased every five years or whenever salaries of workers are increased, whichever comes earlier; consequential adjustment on pension in accordance with consequential adjustment done in 2019; living minimum wage of N50,00:00 for pensioners in Lagos State.

The demand includes payment of backlog of gratuities and pension arrears; recognition of members of Nigerian Union Pensioners: provision of utility bus and payment of N25,000 palliatives to pensioners, among others

The Secretary of Nigeria Union of Pensioners and Contributory Pension Scheme Sector, (NUP-CPS), Olagbaye Johnson Oladele, said the pensioners came out to express dissatisfaction over the ill-treatment experience at Lagos Pension Scheme.

He said: “The scheme promised to pay us regularly and immediately after service we will receive our entitlement but the reverse is the case. Those of us under the scheme have become victims of circumstance and the Lagos State Government negate the objective of the scheme. Some of us waited for three years before we could collect our entitlement, of which during the process some of us died while others are living in a deplorable state.”

NUP-CPS Lagos State Auditor, David Oke said most pensioners joined the scheme without prior knowledge of the scheme in 2017.

“The scheme was so bad that after leaving service we started noticing the difficult terrain the governor put us to. By the definition of CPS, we are supposed to have received our entitlement as of 2007.”

The Chairperson, of Nigeria Labour Congress, Lagos chapter, Agnes Sesi,  commended the pensioners for the peaceful protest, and urged them to exercise patience as the state government is ready to address the issue.