People who used to work for the Federal Civil Service and are now retired have said they may protest across the country because the Federal Government hasn't paid them the money they were supposed to get for their work.
The retired workers, who are part of the Federal Civil Service Pensioners group, which is connected to the National Union of Pensioners, are upset that the Bola Tinubu-led government has not paid them the money they were supposed to get, especially at a time when Nigerians are facing difficulty due to the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
Tinubu said in his October 2023 Independence Day speech that his government will give N35,000 to people who are still working and N25,000 to retirees while they finish discussing the new minimum wage.
Even though the government started paying active workers, they stopped before starting again in December 2023 because of pressure from the Organised Labour.
When speaking to some members of the press in Abuja on Wednesday, Sunday Omezi, who is the President of the Federal Civil Service Pensioners, said that retired workers are suffering a lot.
“We want to let the world know through this communication channel the pain and suffering we have been going through for many years, even though we served the government with our full energy and dedication, only to be mistreated and ignored after using up our energy and leaving us feeling rejected and forgotten.”
Talking about the unpaid wage award, Omezi said, “It is really sad and disappointing that the government still hasn't given pensioners the N25,000 they were promised.
“It is very bad that pensioners still haven't received any payment. We are demanding to be paid now because it is very embarrassing for the government to not keep their promise.”
Omezi also mentioned that pensioners have been crying and asking for help from the government for a long time, as seen in many official requests.
“Our requests have been intentionally ignored, so we have no choice but to speak out even more so the world can know about the terrible situation we've been put in by the same system that is supposed to protect us.”
When asked if the group would protest, Omezi said, “We hope it doesn't come to that. That's why we are having this press briefing. However, if nothing changes, we might have to protest.”
