Pensioners from the federal public and private sectors have asked President Bola Tinubu not to exclude them from the new ₦70,000 monthly transport support recently approved for public workers, saying retirees are also struggling to survive the rising cost of living.
The retirees said they still board buses and pay the same high fares to get to hospitals for treatment, markets to buy food and the small businesses many of them run to augment their pensions.
The appeal was made by the Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPPAN) in a statement signed by its President-General, Elder Benjamin Amako, and General Secretary, Mr Franklin Erinle.
According to the association, its call is not to stop the relief for serving officers, but to ensure that pensioners who live on fixed incomes are not forgotten in government measures to cushion the effects of rising living costs.
FEPPPAN said, “Many of our members depend entirely on monthly pensions to cover food, drugs, transport and other basics, at a time prices have continued to rise.”
The group also raised concerns over the unpaid ₦25,000 palliative announced by the Federal Government on October 1, 2023, to cushion the effects of subsidy removal. The palliative was meant to last for three months, with vulnerable pensioners listed among the beneficiaries.
More than two years after the announcement, the association said eligible retirees are still waiting to receive the payment, even as a new transport allowance is being rolled out for workers in service.
The pensioners appealed to President Tinubu to intervene and direct relevant agencies to pay the outstanding palliative and include retirees in the new transport support framework.
They argued that workers’ welfare should not end at retirement, noting that pensioners who served the country for decades deserve equal consideration when hardship relief measures are being designed.
