By Christiana Ekpa
The Nigeria Union of journalist (NUJ) on Tuesday called o the National Assembly to review the country’s pension scheme to enhance improved living conditions for retired workers.
NUJ National President, Alhassan Yahaya, made the call at the 2025 NUJ FCT Press Week Lecture with the theme: “Journalism in a Changing World: Press Freedom, Media, Democracy, and Society.”
Yahaya, represented by the Vice-President, Zone D, Alhaji Adeiza Momoh, urged the lawmakers to look into the pension scheme, saying something was fundamentally wrong with the system.
He said that Nigerian workers, including civil servants, police officers and especially, journalists were victims of the system.
Yahaya said that civil servants had been facing serious challenges after retirement, with nobody to take care of them.
He cited the recent protests by retired police officers over their pension scheme and cases of some retired deputy directors in federal agencies whose pensions were nothing to write home about as examples
“Only yesterday, our colleagues were also on the streets of Abuja to cover the retired police officers’ protests over the issue of the poor pensions being paid to them.
“I want to say that it’s not just the police that is a victim of this pension scheme. Our colleagues are also victims.
“I want to use this occasion to beg the Speaker (of House of Representatives) that this pension law has something that is fundamentally wrong with it.
“If you’re not lucky to have children who can take care of you at that age, it is going to be difficult,’’ he said.
The NUJ president also advised journalists to prioritise issues that concerned them, especially pension, salary and other welfare matters.
He expressed the hope that the conference would help journalists to deliver their mandates effectively and also impact positively on the media industry.
Also speaking, the Executive Vice-Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Halilu, urged the media to set the pace for the development of Nigeria.
Halilu, represented by the agency’s Director of Information, Mr Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, said if Nigeria must advance, the media, as the conscience of the nation, must set the agenda.
“The media occupy a critical position in term of national development and if our country must advance, they must take the lead by changing what occupy the front page of our newspapers to what will propel our development,’’ he said.
