Business
Pensioners Demand Payment Of Entitlements
Some federal civil ser
vice pensioners in Lagos last Saturday called on the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the delay and non-payment of their gratuity, pensions and other entitlements.
The pensioners, who spoke to newsmen described post retirement life as difficult and stressful.
According to them, most of the agencies created by the government to oversee pension affairs only give attention to bureaucratic issues rather than concentrating on paying the entitlements of retirees.
Mr Emeka Alicha, who retired in 2006, said that all his effort to get his pension since retirement had been futile.
“Since I retired in 2006 I have been going up and down struggling for my pension but all efforts have been in vain as I have not been paid a dime after my gratuity.
“I have visited different offices in Lagos and Abuja without any positive result,’’ Alicha lamented.
The pensioner said that he had taken to doing menial jobs such as security to survive.
Alicha’s colleague, Mr John Emerokwem, who retired two years earlier, said that after receiving his gratuity and pension for a while his name was removed from the pay roll.
”I received gratuity and I was receiving my monthly pension until 2010 when the peanut stopped coming.
“I am not happy. If not for help from my children I would have died of hunger,’’ Emerokwem said.
Ms Cecilia Pereira, a 2002 retiree from the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, described her experience as unpalatable.
“The experience has been so stressful. Our effort in getting the peanut is more than the token we are asking for,’’ Pereira said.
According to her, the late payment or non-payment had brought her embarrassment in paying for her electricity and other utility services.
Another 1997 retiree from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, who gave his name simply as Mr O. Oseni, said that since retirement he had not received both gratuity and pension.
”Since I retired, my gratuity has not been paid up until now. We have been coming and going without any fruit,’’ he said.
The pensioner, however, expressed optimism that the newly established Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate would bring the plight of retirees to an end.
Also speaking, Mr Benson Ayoko, a 1983 retiree, said that the situation had brought serious embarrassment to the nation.
“All irregularities in pension payment are a serious embarrassment to our nation.
“I stopped being paid since July, 2010 and there is no justification for removing my name from the payroll,’’ he said.
Mr Peter Ohai, a 1999 retiree from the Federal Ministry of Information said: “I can’t still understand why our money should be held on to without paying us, it’s sad.
Reacting to the development, Mr Sanni Olalekan, the Lagos State Chairman of Federal Civil Service Pensioners under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, decried the manner pension fund was managed in the country.
Olelekan pleaded with pensioners not to be frustrated by government’s series of screening of pensioners but should make themselves available for such exercises.
The chairman said the creation of PTAD in 2013 by the government showed government’s commitment to ending all crises related to pension administration in the country.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.