Zamfara pensioners beg for arrears, lament N3,000 monthly stipend

Pensioners in Zamfara State have begged Governor Bello Matawalle to come to their aid and pay them the arrears of their pension and gratuity which runs into several months.

The plea which was made by the state council of the National Union of Pensioners (NUP) on Sunday, also called on the Governor to immediately review their paltry pension stipend of N3,000 to a minimum of N30,000 a month, considering the high cost of living in the country.

The chairman of the state council, Hassan Muhammad Gusau, while making the appeal in a message to mark the 2021 Pensioners Day, said:

“Every December 11 is designated by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners as Pensioners Day since 2002 and every year comes with its prospect and challenges

“Some of the challenges facing the union include the deliberate disregard for our pensioners and most especially the constitutional requirements of section 173 (3) and 210(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic as amended.

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“It stipulates that there should be a pension review every five years or together with an increase of workers salary or whichever comes first.

“Governor Bello Matawalle promised to continue to release N100 million gratuities to the state and local government pensioners each, which is yet to be actualised.

“But the inability to have a minimum pension is very disheartening because many pensioners still receive less than N3,000 a month.

“The union, therefore, calls for upward review of the amount that had not been done since 1999.

“Offset all outstanding gratuities of pensioners once and for all and increase the minimum pension in the state to at least N30,000 a month,” he said.

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