The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Lagos State Council, has appealed to Lagos State Governor, Mr. BabajideSanwo-Olu, to comply with the constitutional provision that pensions should be increased every five years or whenever workers’ salaries are increased.
The Chairman, NUP, Lagos State, Rev. Oluremi Johnson, made the appeal during the State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting.
Johnson, while appreciating Sanwo-Olu for regular monthly payment of pensions, lamented the present conditions of Nigerian pensioners, retirees and elderly senior citizens as a result of the rising inflations.
He, therefore, called on the state governor to act by Sections 173 (3) and 210 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that stated that pension should be increased every five years or whenever salaries of workers are increased whichever comes earlier in line.
He said: “We want the consequential adjustments on our pensions by the adjustments done to workers on various occasions, circumstances, opportunities, events, causes and motives as entrenched and established in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“We equally appeal to the state government to provide us with utility vehicle and office for our union as was done to our sister unions.
“We are elderly and orderly senior citizens in nature but we do not deserve agitation to receive our constitutional right,” he said.
NUP, Lagos State Vice Chairman, Dr. Aderemi Titus Greggy, called for regularisation of pension salary as older retirees earn less than new retirees.
“One of the major challenges that face pensioners is that those who retired in the 70s were paid less compared to those who retired in the 80s within the same grade level.
“Likewise, those who retire in the 90s earn less than those who retire in 2000 due to salary improvement.”
