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Pension: Retired workers kick against Jonathan’s N90m largesse

By on May 28, 2013

Apparently trying to stave the planned nationwide strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, over pension-related issues, President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered the immediate release of N90 million to the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP.

The payment has, however, angered members of the Association of Federal Public Service Retirees, which claim to have more than 65,000 members but are not getting any meaningful assistance from the Federal Government.

The association has fired an eight-paged protest letter signed by its National Chairman, Chief Emmanuel Akinola Omoyeni, to President Jonathan, demanding explanations on why it should pay check-off dues to a union when in reality it is the union members who should be remitting check-off to their respective unions in accordance with labour laws of Nigeria.

They alleged that the so-called check-off dues would end up in some powerful government functionaries’ pockets as there was no evidence that such monies could be given to any union in Nigeria.

The retirees also accused the OHCSF of stifling the payment of their pension since it hijacked the management of pensions from the disbanded Abdulrasheed Maina’s Pension Task Team in November last year.

They said, “to our dismay, in November 2012, OHCSF stopped pension payment from the PTT and from that time pensioners have been made to return to the era of suffering and hardship.

“Up till now, 80 percent of pensioners have not received November and December 2012″.

They alleged that the OHCSF would not be able to correct the anomalies in the pension system since it did not collect the database of pensioners from the sacked chairman of the PTT, Maina.

Documents obtained in Abuja, yesterday, by Vanguard suggested that the President gave the order to both the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim and the Head of Service of the Federation, following a meeting he held with officials of the NLC in his office.

NLC officials had met with the President on April 8, 2013, and drew his attention to non-remittance of one percent check-off dues of members by the office of the HCSF to the NUP since the forceful takeover of pension management from the Adulrasheed Maina-led Pension Task Team.

 

 

 

[Vanguard]