By Stanley Onyekwere
Hundreds of pensioners in the Federal Capital Territory, yesterday, embarked on a peaceful protest at the entrance of FCT Administration Secretariat, demanding payment of 33 months pension arrears by the FCT Administration.
The aggrieved retirees , under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, FCT Chapter, noted that they had last year planned for a peaceful assembly at the secretariat, but the FCT Minister, intervened, and assured them that their arrears will be paid, which till date it has not been paid.
Speaking during the protest, the state chairman of the union Mohammed Bida, said they occupied the entrance of the FCTA to draw the attention of the minister, Malam Muhammad Bello to his unfulfilled promise.
Bida said: “We were to commence a peaceful assembly at the Minister’s office November 2021, but we were called for a dialogue. The Minister assured us that we would be paid immediately the National Assembly approve the 2022 FCT budget, up till date we have not been paid the consequential adjusted arrears (33 months) which circular came out in 2019.
“The union has been writing letters of reminder to no avail, our members have asked us, the leaders to issue a 14 – day notice of peaceful gathering starting from December, 2022. We have done that and nothing happened, that is why we started the protest today”.
He explained that the consequential adjusted pension (33 months) which circular came out in 2019, has since been implemented by the Area Council Pension board with full payment, remaining the theirs.
Reacting to the protest, the Director FCTA Human Resource Management Mohammed Bashir, who addressed the retired staff, told them that their arrears will be paid on or before May 29, 2023.
He said: “The administration is concerned with the plights of its pensioners, but there are processes which we are almost done with, on or before May 29, 2023, all the arrears will be cleared”.
Bashir recalled that the administration had directed the Pension director to within two weeks capture all the pensioners on National Health Insurance Scheme.
He therefore, assured them that as soon as the processes are cleared their pension will be paid.
