Members of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Pensioners Association, on Wednesday, staged a protest in Ibadan, Oyo State, demanding the payment of their approved minimum wage and palliative award.
The protesters gathered at the Nigeria Union of Journalists secretariat in Iyaganku, Ibadan, wielding placards with messages like, ‘Radio Nigeria Pensioners: Our Sick Pensioners Need Money, Please, Pay Our N32,000 Arrears’, ‘We Are Still Feeding Our Graduates, Please Pay Our Entitlement Now’, ‘Our Sick Pensioners Need Money For Medication’, ‘Enough Of Audio Promises, Please Pay All Our Entitlements Now’, and ‘Stop Deduction Of Our Monthly Pension’.
The chairman of the association, Sola Ogunmola, who led the protest and shared their frustrations, explained that while retirees from ministries are receiving their minimum wage, FRCN retirees are still waiting for theirs.
He said, ‘Approaching two years since President Tinubu announced palliative measures for Nigerian workers, no payment has been made to pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) and Contributory Pension, including the N25,000 for pensioners’.
Ogunmola also highlighted issues with pension arrears, saying, ‘Not all DBS pensioners got the eight months of arrears from the 20% pension increase that was approved in January 2024.
‘The recent N32,000 addition to pensioners’ monthly dues based on the new minimum wage of N72,000, announced to take effect in July 2024, has not been implemented for FRCN retirees’.
He also raised concerns about Nigerian pensioners abroad, saying, ‘Many Diaspora members couldn’t do their ‘I am alive’ verification online because PTAD hasn’t provided a way for them to complete it. Some were even removed from the payroll’.
Ogunmola made an appeal to the Federal Government, saying, ‘We ask the government to intervene as many of our members can no longer meet their daily needs and cannot even pay their hospital bills’.
