Former employees of the defunct Arab Bank and Assurance Bank staged a protest in Lagos on Wednesday, calling for government intervention over what they described as decades of neglect, inadequate pensions, and unpaid retirement benefits.
The retirees, who assembled at the office of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) within the Tafawa Balewa Square complex, accused regulatory authorities of failing to address their welfare concerns more than 20 years after the liquidation of the two banks.
Representing approximately 1,020 affected former employees nationwide, the protesters said many members of the group survive on monthly pensions of less than N10,000 despite rising living costs and efforts by government to enhance retirees’ welfare.
Dozens of elderly former workers participated in the demonstration, carrying placards bearing messages including, “20yrs on: No gratuities and retirement benefits. CBN, NDIC, why?” and “After 32 years of service, where is our 32k pension palliatives?”
At the centre of the dispute is the retirees’ contention that they have been excluded from welfare measures and pension reviews extended to other categories of pensioners.
The protesters argued that although they were incorporated into the PTAD pension framework in 2019, their benefits have yet to be aligned with those of regular Federal Government retirees.
Speaking during the protest, according to reports by PUNCH, coordinator of the demonstration and former Assurance Bank employee, Idowu Oshikoya, said many retirees were struggling to meet basic needs because of the low pension payments.
“We are ex-staff of the defunct Arab Bank and Assurance Bank. We worked, and we are qualified to be paid pension. Up till now, many of us are here to be paid; even those who are paid are not sufficiently paid,” he said.
Oshikoya said the group had also been excluded from the N32,000 pension enhancement introduced for pensioners, despite receiving pension payments significantly below that amount.
“The N32,000 palliative that was granted for all minimum wage… we are excluded. I can tell you for free that many of us here, our pension is under N10,000. I don’t know how we can survive with that,” he added.
The retirees also expressed concerns over unpaid gratuities and other retirement entitlements linked to the liquidation of the banks.
Another former Assurance Bank employee, Bola Olaniyan, said some affected workers had yet to receive any benefits despite waiting for two decades.
“It was the NDIC that liquidated us, and this has been for about 20 years. For 20 years, some of our members have not been paid a dime. We wrote to the NDIC, we wrote to the CBN… they never deemed it fit to reply to us,” Olaniyan said.
Olaniyan questioned the handling of assets belonging to the defunct institutions, arguing that proceeds from their disposal could have been used to settle liabilities owed to former employees.
He also expressed frustration over the level of pension payments being received by some retirees after decades of service.
“PTAD will look us in the face—I’ve got 35 years in the bank—and give us N12,000 as pension at the end of the month,” he said.
According to the protesters, many affected retirees are elderly and face mounting financial hardship, with some reportedly unable to afford transportation costs to participate in the demonstration.
While acknowledging that they were classified as unsecured creditors during the liquidation process, the group argued that such classification should not justify delays spanning more than two decades.
The protesters are demanding an upward review of monthly pensions to a minimum benchmark of N32,000, payment of outstanding arrears dating back to 2009, and greater transparency regarding unresolved benefits and assets linked to the liquidation of the banks.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), nor PTAD had publicly responded to the allegations.
The retirees vowed to sustain their protests until their demands are met, underscoring broader concerns surrounding pension adequacy, delayed benefits, and retirement income security among some categories of pensioners.
