By Toochi Ejiofor
Edited by Bababunmi Agbebi
For Lagos pensioners, the question is no longer simply when their outstanding benefits will be paid. It is whether their years of service still matter to the government they worked for.
On Monday, August 31, hundreds of retirees gathered in Alausa, demanding the payment of outstanding pension increases, wage awards, arrears and other retirement benefits, after years spent in the Lagos public service.
The protest came after months of complaints and engagements with the state government over delayed pension adjustments. Pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme had earlier threatened a mass protest after the government failed to implement the proposed pension increase and wage award.
IkejaBird reported that police used tear gas to disperse the elderly protesters during the demonstration. Representatives of the pensioners were later told that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was away from Lagos at the time, would meet with them on Thursday following his return.
Thursday came.
But there has been no clear public account of the promised meeting with the pensioners.
Instead, Sanwo-Olu was at the Sheraton Lagos Hotel in Ikeja on Thursday, where he delivered the 7th Freedom Online lecture on Nigeria’s 2027 elections, the economy and security.
By Friday, September 4, another public appearance involving the governor was drawing attention. Actor and filmmaker Folagade Banks visited Sanwo-Olu following the movie, A Mama Deola Wedding Story, with the encounter shared online.
None of these engagements is, in itself, a problem. A governor has numerous responsibilities and meetings. But for pensioners who were promised a meeting over benefits they say remain outstanding, the absence of a visible resolution questions where they stand among the government’s priorities.
The Chairman, NUP (Contributory Pension Scheme) Lagos Council, Michael Omisande has said the Union doubts the competence of the Director General of the Lagos state Pensions Commission (LASPEC), Babalola Obilana, however the union is hopeful that by next week a positive action will be taken by the Governor, otherwise they might return to the streets
These are former public servants who spent decades working for the Lagos State Government and are now asking for the benefits due to them. They are retirees being forced to cope with delayed pension increases, which they depend on for their basic needs.
At retirement, people should not have to repeatedly protest before the government listens to them. They should not have to stand at the gates of Alausa to remind the state that they exist.
Governor Sanwo-Olu should engage directly with representatives of the pensioners, address their concerns and provide a clear position on the outstanding pension increases, arrears and other benefits being demanded.
Whatever decision is reached should be made public, so the pensioners and Lagos residents know what has been agreed, what remains outstanding and when the government intends to act.
