Nigerian Pensioners Threaten Nationwide Naked Protest Over Unpaid Pensions

The Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, threatening a nationwide naked protest on October 6 if pension increments and palliatives remain unpaid.

National Chairman, Mr. Mukaila Ogunbote, who also leads the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NIPOST Chapter), announced this at a news conference in Lagos. He said pensioners had given the government until September to settle all arrears, increments, and palliatives.

According to Ogunbote, the protest would symbolically expose government failures and highlight the suffering of retirees.

He recalled that in October 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved ₦35,000 for workers and ₦25,000 for pensioners as palliatives. While workers received theirs within a month, pensioners have waited nearly a year without payment.

Ogunbote also revealed that pensioners’ requests for six months of additional palliatives were ignored, even though workers received theirs for ten months. He added that the President had approved a ₦13,000 pension increase, yet no action had been taken by the Ministry of Finance or the Accountant-General.

“When we asked, we were told our ₦32,000 increment was omitted from both the 2024 and 2025 budgets. This is injustice,” Ogunbote declared.

Other retirees, including Mr. Fashola Oluwo of the Federal Ministry of Information, lamented that many pensioners could not afford essential medication, while some had died waiting.

Mrs. Dupe Ogunniyi of FRCN appealed to the First Lady to intervene, stressing that many retirees also support unemployed graduate children.

Former Lagos NUP Chairman, Mr. Adebola Akinduture, added: “We are hungry. Food is medicine, yet without it, medicine is meaningless. Pensioners are starving.”

He vowed that if government fails to act, pensioners will take to the streets naked on October 6 to demand justice.