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REVIEW MINIMUM PENSION TO MATCH WITH N70,000 MINIMUM WAGE – NUP
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has lamented how some pensioners who retired from government establishments earn as little as N500 as monthly pensions.
The union’s Secretary for Kaduna State, Alhassan Musa, revealed the development which he described as precarious. He demanded the review of minimum pension to match with current national minimum wage of N70,000.
“These individuals sacrificed their lives and service for the nation, yet they are now left to survive on paltry sums,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Musa said the condition of pensioners is severe in some southern and oil-producing states, despite the allocations they get from the federation account.
“The worst affected are pensioners in most of the Southern and oil-producing states in spite of getting fat allocations from the federation account,” Musa said.
According to him, the condition is better in the North of the Federal Capital Territory where some pensioners receive between N3,500 to N18,000 monthly.
He said, “The condition of pensioners in some Northern states and the FCT is far better up, as some of them received between N3,500 and N18,000 monthly pension”.
Musa noted that Kaduna State is the only state with a minimum benchmark of N30,000 pension.
According to him, the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i implemented a minimum pension of N30,000 in 2020.
He said, “Even when the national minimum wage was N30,000, we proposed a 50 per cent increment in pensions. Now, with the new N70,000 national minimum wage, this adjustment is even more critical.
“If workers are receiving a minimum salary of N70,000, pensioners should enjoy the same benefits. The minimum pension should be at par with the national minimum wage.”
