Some unpaid federal government retirees have protested the non-payment of their pensions and other entitlements.

The pensioners demanded the immediate payment of outstanding 33 per cent arrears of 18 months being owed pensioners by the Federal Government; immediate conduct of verification in Lagos and issuing cheques of those not on the payroll; immediate payment of gratuities and pension arrears to those affected; immediate payment of entitlements of death benefits to the relatives of the dead; and stoppage of prolonged payment of monthly pensions and epileptic pay.

The pensioners, who carried placards to express their grievances, said that the fulfilment of the requests was the only thing that that could stop their planned continued protest nationwide.

During the protest, the Chairman, Federal Concerned Pensioners, Mr. David Adodo, said retirees ought to earn pensions for the remaining part of their lives, considering the low level of economic activities in Nigeria, but that this had not been the case.

The pensioners accused the Pension Traditional Arrangement Directorate of under-paying pensioners, as well as outright omission of some retirees from the government’s payroll; delay of payments of monthly pensions.

He said, “Regrettably, the little paltry wage they are rightly entitled to are paid to them in an un-dignifying manner. Retirement, which ordinarily should be embraced with joy, has become a source of sorrow, frustration, pain and agony. The pain was more complicated by the introduction of PTAD.”

Adodo said that the system had forced the retirees to continue to take a death wage that could hardly sustain them in the present challenging time.

He said, “The Federal Government claimed they have released the sum of N74bn to settle all outstanding arrears, but to our surprise, PTAD claimed they have not received any money, so who do we believe. Government should investigate this issue.”