By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
Pensioners in the Federal Capital Territory have expressed frustration over the delay in the payment of their pension arrears despite the approval of a N758 billion Treasury bond by the Federal Government.
Hajiya Amina Lawal, a pensioner, said, “We were happy after the announcement by the president that we are going to be paid, but we did not know we will have to wait this long for processing. Our hopes were raised and some have died while waiting for the money to be paid. We are begging for the immediate implementation, we are too old to be on the streets.”
Another pensioner, Mr. George Ose, said, “My family and I are hungry. I can’t pay my children’s school fees. My landlord is on my neck and to top it all, I can’t access the National Health Insurance Scheme anymore. If you look into my eyes, you will know that I need urgent medical attention. We the pensioners in this country are suffering. After working hard, if I knew I would suffer like this, I would not have given them the services I gave them.”
Mrs. Joy Adewale, who retired with her husband in 2016, said, “We have been struggling to feed with this stipend. I am suffering, my husband is suffering too. What is our offence? We served our nation for 35 years. After retirement, I opened a shop to sell soft drinks, but government demolished the shop. Now this amount cannot even feed my family and I, to say the least, as well as our medical bills and other things. Some of us couldn’t cope with this hardship. Even my neighbour that retired two years ago died two months ago. People look down on us because we are retirees.”
She added, “Even my bank refused to grant me loan to continue the business because I am a retiree. No friend again, only God is sustaining me and my family now. I am now appealing to this present government to help us pay all our rights now that we are alive. I pray that all our colleagues that have fallen, that God will accept their souls. For those of us still alive, I also pray God will help us to reap the fruit of our labour.”
Mrs. Nkiru Offor, who retired in 2019, also shared her struggles. She said, “My NHIS that was stopped immediately after my retirement has been a huge challenge. I spend a lot on lab tests and drugs instead of just ten per cent. In fact, it is difficult to register for the private NHIS programme with N50,000. They are even telling me I have issues with my payment that it has not dropped for the past three months that I registered. So no access to cheap medicals.”
Another pensioner, Mr. Evans Ubah, urged the Federal Government to intervene. He said, “Today I can’t feed myself, see how my face is, it’s hunger. Look at how harsh the economy is because of our leaders. We don’t have anything to live on now, every year they will tell us in the media that pension fund asset has increased, why are pensioners not paid? We have a constitution in the country that every five years salaries will be increased and pension will increase too.”
Ubah added that they need their arrears to start small businesses.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier approved the Treasury bond in February, and the National Assembly gave its nod on July 22, but the pensioners said they are yet to receive their payments.