Southwest Pensioners Reject N70,000 Minimum Wage, Demand N250,000

Pensioners in the Southwest, under the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), have rejected the recently approved N70,000 minimum wage, calling on labor unions to push for a N250,000 minimum wage to reflect the current economic realities. This decision was made during a meeting held in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Thursday.

Dr. Olusegun Abatan, NUP Southwest Publicity Secretary, who spoke at the event, criticized the negotiation process that led to the N70,000 wage agreement, claiming the labor leaders involved were inexperienced and misled. According to him, the government increased fuel prices immediately after the agreement, making the N70,000 inadequate.

Abatan urged labor unions to return to the negotiating table and fight for the N250,000 minimum wage they initially sought. He emphasized that the current N70,000 wage covers only about 60 liters of fuel, which is insufficient for workers to cope with rising costs.

The pensioners also raised concerns about local government autonomy, urging that any implementation should not disrupt the payment of pensions and salaries for local government workers, teachers, and traditional rulers.

While commending some governors in the Southwest for their efforts in pension and gratuity payments, the pensioners appealed to state governments to implement the 33% pension increase and consequential adjustments from 2019. They warned that failure to do so could shortchange pensioners once the new minimum wage or pension is enforced.

The communique concluded with a call for the federal and state governments to ensure that local government autonomy does not lead to financial crises, such as the zero allocations that affected councils in the past.