Despite tear gas by police, NUPCPS fulfills pledge, embark on peaceful protest after expiration of 26-day ultimatum
When they changed the venue to dancing floor
By allcitynews.ng
Despite the use of tear gas by police to dispass them, retirees under the umbrella of Nigeria Union of Pensioners/Contributory Pension Scheme on Monday, August 31, fulfilled their pledge to embark on the protest after expiration of 19-day and additional 7-day ultimatum given to Lagos State Government to pay them their entitlements or face the consequences.
The tear gas, further igniting their anger, they converted the peaceful protest into "occupy Government House until their demands are met, spread the large banner into mat, sat on it at the main entrance of the Government House, while others converted the road divides into sitting chairs amidst the burning sun.
Their disappointment became more pronounced when the outcome from the closed door meeting which took almost two and half hours failed to yield their expected singular result, "to hear or see alert from the state government in our phones."
Virtually all the pensioners shouted against the outcome of the meeting, unanimously said, "We are tired of long grammar. What we want to hear is alerts from our bank accounts. How could a meeting that lasted almost two and half hours fail to yield results."'
Moreover, they chorused, "Lagos State used to be known as centre of excellence but now the excellence is being subjected to questioning as Mr Governor and his cabinet members are subjecting retirees into this harsh condition. Our national pledge says we should serve our native land with our strength, but our service to our state government has led us into this stage that after working for 35 years, we are now being denied of the accrued benefits, and he even charged the police to chase us away with tear gas rather than meeting our demands."
The state government, led by the Chief of Staff, Mr Tayo Ayinde, who appealed for calm, said, "Governor Sanwo-Olu apologised over the erroneous belief that he instructed police to disperse the crowd or shoot tear gas against you. He did not order the police to release tear gas against anyone," and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Lagos State Council, Comrade Funmi Sessi, the selected representatives from the leadership of the pensioners, entered the office for closed door meeting for signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), but they came out, after two and half hours, without expected result by the pensioners.
Announcing the partial agreement from the meeting, Comrade Sessi told the gathering that, "Mr Governor has promised to be in the country any moment this week, he will personally be around for another meeting with you on Thursday. The outcome of that meeting would determine whether the protest would continue on Friday or not."
By this announcement, the over 2,000 pensioners left the venue enmas at 4.45pm.
Prior to the meeting with Lagos State, the Pensioners under the Nigeria Union of PensionerContributory Pension Scheme (NUPCPS) have staged the protest demanding the implementation of approved pension increases and wage awards, resolution of arrears spanning up to 16 years.
Moreover, they chorused, "Lagos State used to be known as centre of excellence but now the excellence is being subjected to questioning as Mr Governor and his cabinet members are subjecting retirees into this harsh condition. Our national pledge says we should serve our native land with our strength, but our service to our state government has led us into this stage that after working for 35 years, we are now being denied of the accrued benefits, and he even charged the police to chase us away with tear gas rather than meeting our demand."
Although the state Chief of Staff, defended the governor, saying, Mr Governor did not direct anyone to use tear on you, the pensioners, who had vowed to stay indefinitely until their demands are met, however left the venue.
The protest followed the expiration of a 19-day ultimatum and another 7-day ultimatum issued by the retirees.
The pensioners, who began their protest from the Shoprite area and marched towards the Lagos State Governor’s Office, reiterated their resolve to occupy the Alausa Government House indefinitely until the state government meets their demands.
The retirees, who trouped out from their respective zones carrying placards and singing solidarity songs, expressed anger over what they described as prolonged neglect and financial hardship after years of service to the state.
However, the retirees insisting that the time for further delays was over, in unanimous voice said, "All we want to see or hear now is alert of payment in our phones, not long grammar."
Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Lagos State Council, Olufemi Olanrewaju, while speaking during the protest, described the continued delay in implementing the pension adjustments as an act of injustice against retired workers.
Olanrewaju alleged that no fewer than 2,000 pensioners had died while waiting for their outstanding entitlements, and hundreds of others were currently sick and struggling to afford adequate healthcare and other basic needs.
He also questioned why the Lagos State Government had yet to implement the payments after receiving an actuarial report detailing the financial obligations involved.
The pensioners accused the state government of failing to honour its commitment to retirees, saying the situation had placed many senior citizens under severe financial pressure.
Also speaking, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Contributory Pensioners (NUPCPS), Lagos State, Michael Omisande, said the pensioners would sustain their agitation until their outstanding entitlements were paid.
In the same vein, the apex pension regulatory body, National Pension Commission (PenCom) has intervened in the issue.
In a statement, made available on Monday, August 31, PenCom acknowledged the concerns of Lagos State CPS pensioners regarding the implementation of pension increases and wage awards, saying it recognised the importance of ensuring that retirees receive all benefits legitimately due to them.
The Commission said that it had engaged the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) on issues relating to the administration of pensions, including the need to extend appropriate pension adjustments to eligible CPS retirees.
PenCom, however, explained that implementing pension enhancements involves several processes, including determining eligibility, applicable adjustments, actuarial liability, funding, and providing relevant data and instructions to Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
It said it was engaging the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the processes were properly addressed.
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