Pensioners Tasks FG On Pension Provision Review, Demand Immediate Payment Of Wage Award

The Federal Civil Service Pensioners Branch, FCSPB, has called on the federal government to revisit the 2015 outstanding pension review.

The pensioners stated that the review became imperative as its usual five-year cycle was long overdue.

This is even as they demanded immediate payment of the N25,000 wage award as promised by the Federal Government.

The president of the association, Sunday Omezi, made the call on Wednesday, at a news conference in Abuja.

Omezi said that if the federal government failed to honour its promises, pensioners might be forced to embark on street protests.

“It is pathetic and disappointing to bring to the fore, the non-payment of the N25,000 wage award promised by the federal government since August 2023.

“It is rather distasteful that till date, no single payment has been made to pensioners.

“We are hereby demanding immediate payment of the award, because it is so embarrassing,” he said.

The FCSPB President argued that whenever the new national minimum wage is reviewed, the review of the outstanding pension should be done alongside as stated in the 1999 Constitution.

“Pension is a constitutional right and privilege of the beneficiary, which is also the reason it is enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in Section 173, subsections 1-4.

“The provisions are explicit enough that it should not be subjected to misinterpretation, or uneven application.

“In consideration of the foregoing, we therefore request a revisit of the 2015 outstanding pension review, which appears to have been skipped,” he said.

Omezi alleged that pensioners had been persistently shut out of government’s policies and programmes.

The FCSPB President further alleged that pensioners were being treated with disdain, to the extent that matters concerning them were considered inconsequential.

Omezi appealed to the government to live up to its responsibilities by ensuring that “the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain,” and treating pensioners fairly.