By Dupson Collins, 4th November, 2022
Ondo State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Unit has held its inaugural meeting in Akure, Ondo State Capital on Friday, 4th of November, 2022.
The membership of the NUP Contributory Pension Scheme comprises of the retired federal workers in Ondo State.
In his welcome address, the Convener of the meeting, Comrade Michael Olagoke Akinwumi said the need to have a common front to fight for the right of retired federal workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme necessitated the formation of the state chapter of the union.
He lamented poor monthly pension being paid to retirees by the government, saying the ill treatment of the government to the Senior Citizens must be addressed.
” With this present economic hardship in the country, our government is paying some Pensioners N20,000, N5,000 or less as pension. We don’t deserve this; having served the country for 35 years, this is not the kind of treatment Nigeria government should reward us with”, He Stated.
He appealed to the government to repeal the Pension Reform Act that has not in any way serve the interest of retirees, saying removing pensioners’ names from the Health Insurance Scheme has negative effects on their health status.
Speaking, the representative of the National President of NUP Contributory Pension Scheme, Comrade Joseph Oluwagbemiga Oyadiran who doubled as the South West Coordinator, said the Scheme was a good initiative of Obasanjo administration but condemned its poor implementation.
Oyadiran said as good as the scheme could have been, it didn’t serve the best interest of the retirees, saying Obasanjo government hurriedly introduced the Scheme without consulting the stakeholders.
” We are not invited nor consulted while drafting the scheme; the government only asked us to sign after all arrangement have been concluded but today its implementation is at our own disadvantage”.
He faulted the insincerity of the government in Policy formulation and implementation, noting that most of the government policies are self-serving rather than benefitting the concerned people.
He lamented non-payment of their gratuity as at when due whereas politician take home 300 percent of their money without recourse to retired Civil servants, saying nobody will fight for them if not themselves.
Oyadiran bemoaned the exclusion of Senior Civil Servants like Head of Service, Permanent Secretaries, Directors from the Scheme, saying they are receiving 100 percent of their last pay and 300 percent as gratuity.
” If these senior cadre officers are part of the scheme, they will write good memos to the authority and support our struggle but unfortunately, they have excluded themselves from the scheme abnitio”.
He said the 33 percent approval on Pension increment was not gotten on a platter of gold, saying serious efforts were made by committed leaders of the Union.
He charged pensioners leaders to form a unifying body to fight a common cause rather forming a parallel union to cause confusion that will jeopardise the effort of the sincere leaders of the union.
He enjoined federal retirees to join hands together to fight a common cause, saying the myriad of challenges facing pensioners require collective efforts and cooperation of everyone.
“We are no more in service and the only tool left for us to demand our right from the government is street protest when dialogue fails. Nobody will fight our fight for us; Contributory Pension Scheme is a scam that must be rejected and repealed by the government”.
He said the benefits of becoming a member of NUP Contributory Pension Scheme is getting first class information about the activities of the Union leaders as regard the struggle for Pensioners demands.
While appealing to members to contribute money to the struggle, he charged active federal workers to join hands with the pensioners’ body financially and morally in the struggle.
Chatting with the PATH, a retiree from the Federal Civil Service, Engr Ezekiel Oloruntola said the inauguration of the State Chapter of Contributory Pension Scheme Unit in Ondo State will help to address irregularities in the pension scheme, saying the scheme is a total mess and doesn’t favour any pensioner.
He passionately appealed to workers in service to start planning for their retirement, saying retirees are facing serious hardship as Nigerians government has turned blind eyes to their plights.
In the same vein, one of the facilitators Comrade Olatokunbo Agbetuyi said government needs to address the anomalies in the Scheme, noting that workers who have served the country for 35 years deserve something better.
Another retiree described the Scheme as Black Market and fraud that is milking the retirees without clear explanation or orientation from PENCOM and its agencies saddle will the responsibilities of looking after retirees.
