Retired workers under the Nigerian Union of Pensioners took to the streets of Lagos on Monday to protest over 35 months of unpaid pensions and the non-payment of the N35,000 government palliative.
The protesters, made up of retirees from key government agencies like NITEL, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), said they have been pushed to the wall by hardship.
Carrying placards and chanting slogans, the pensioners called on the Federal Government to give a clear timeline for when their money will be paid.
“We have served this country. We deserve to be paid what we are owed,” one of the protesters said. “Many of us can’t feed or buy medicine. We are suffering.”
The group lamented that despite repeated appeals, they have been ignored for nearly three years. They also questioned why they were excluded from the N35,000 fuel subsidy palliative that was announced to ease the cost of living after fuel subsidy was removed.
The protest highlights the ongoing struggles of many Nigerian pensioners who often face delays in receiving their entitlements, despite years of service to the nation.