Pensioners threaten nationwide ‘naked’ protests over unpaid arrears, palliatives

The Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria has threatened to protest naked nationwide on October 6 over unmet demands.

During a press conference on Tuesday in Lagos, Mukaila Ogunbote, the coalition’s national chairman, announced the impending protest.

Ogunbote said pensioners had given the government until September to settle arrears, increments, and palliatives, warning that the protest would symbolically expose government failures and highlight their grievances.

He lamented that while workers received the N35,000 palliative within a month of President Bola Tinubu‘s approval in October 2023, pensioners were still awaiting their N25,000 palliative.

The chairman explained that workers had since demanded and received additional palliatives for 10 months, while pensioners’ requests for six months’ worth remained unmet.

He said Tinubu had also directed an increase of N13,000 in pensions, but no implementation had followed from the ministry of finance or the accountant-general.

“When we enquired, we were told our N32,000 increment was omitted from both the 2024 and 2025 budgets. This is injustice,” Ogunbote said.

Fashola Oluwo, a retiree from the federal ministry of information, said as the cost of living rises, many pensioners struggle to afford essentials, with some even dying while waiting for the increases.

Also, Dupe Ogunniyi, another pensioner, appealed to the First Lady to intervene with Tinubu on behalf of retirees.

Ogunniyi cited the burden of supporting unemployed children and relying solely on meagre pensions for survival.