Three years after the Federal Government announced the approval of a three-month ₦25,000 monthly palliative for pensioners following the removal of fuel subsidy, the elderly ones have told President Bola Tinubu that they are still waiting for payment.
The pensioners, under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), in a letter to Tinubu on Saturday, appealed for the immediate release of the ₦75,000 total relief to them, saying none of its members had received the money since the announcement in October 2023.
The NUP, through its General Secretary, Godwin Amadin, said the money was approved as part of measures to cushion the impact of subsidy removal on vulnerable Nigerians, including pensioners.
According to the union, the approval was received by the senior citizens “with joy and renewed hope,” particularly because pensioners have been among those hardest hit by rising costs of food, drugs, transportation and electricity.
“However, we are constrained to inform Your Excellency that no single pensioner has been paid this approved palliative to date,” the NUP said in the statement on Saturday.
The union expressed concern that the non-payment of the money had further worsened the hardship facing the pensioners, many of whom served the country for 35 years or even more.
The NUP therefore appealed to Tinubu to direct the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office to commence payment of the palliative to pensioners nationwide.
The union also pointed out that the palliative had already been paid to civil servants “almost three years ago,” further fuelling its demand for immediate action on the pensioners’ outstanding payment.
The pensioners said they had already provided verified data to the two agencies to facilitate “seamless, transparent, and direct payment” to beneficiaries.
The union commended the president for the regular payment of monthly pensions and the recent approval of ₦25 billion for the implementation of pension harmonisation and payment of other pension arrears.
It urged the administration to extend the same commitment to the outstanding palliative, saying its release would help restore hope and dignity to senior citizens.
“We have absolute confidence in your ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ and your commitment to ‘leaving no one behind’,” the union said, appealing to the Tinubu to intervene urgently in order to get the N75,000 due to them paid.
