Hundreds of aggrieved members of the Nigerian Port Authority Pensioners and Welfare Association (NPAPWA) on Monday besieged the headquarters of the Nigerian Ports Authority in Marina, Lagos, protesting the prolonged delay in the review of their pensions under the contributory pension scheme.
The elderly protesters, many visibly distressed, carried placards with inscriptions accusing the authority of abandoning retired workers to hardship and poverty. Some of the messages read: “Nigerian Ports Authority is owing its pensioners 16 years’ constitutional benefits”, “President Bola Tinubu, save our souls.
NPA pensioners are dying daily”, and “My pension is N30,000 per month, save my soul.” Addressing journalists during the protest, President of NPAPWA, Charles Binitie, said the union had initially suspended an earlier protest after receiving assurances that steps were being taken to address their grievances.
“We suspended it because we got sufficient information that something was being done. But what we are asking for is for the management to address us. In every relationship, there must be dialogue. You cannot work on our behalf in silence,” he said. Several retirees who spoke during the protest recounted years of hardship, hunger and declining health since leaving service.