The National Union of Pensioners, NUP, Kaduna chapter, has urged Governor Uba Sani to urgently clear N20bn pension arrears owed to retired workers
The appeal was made by the State Secretary, Alhassan Balarabe-Musa, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Kaduna, as part of activities marking the 2025 International Workers’ Day.
Balarabe-Musa noted that Governor Sani inherited more than N30 billion in pension arrears when he assumed office on May 2023. He commended the administration for paying over N10.4 billion so far, including N3.6 billion disbursed in 2023 alone.
“We appreciate the steps taken by the governor, but we urge him to intensify efforts to settle the remaining liabilities,” he said.
The union expressed concern that retirees under the contributory pension scheme, particularly those disengaged since 2017 from local government areas, had yet to receive any payment due to missing records.
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He called on the governor to intervene and ensure that the affected pensioners, who are living in dire conditions, are paid promptly to ease their hardship.
The union also demanded the implementation of the N32,000 pension increase in line with a recent federal directive, which would raise the minimum monthly pension to N62,000.
“So far, only Yobe State has implemented the new pension rate. We urge the governor to follow suit and emulate his predecessor, who was the first to adopt the N30,000 minimum pension in February 2020,” Balarabe-Musa added.
He further requested a plot of land for the union to build a befitting secretariat. He alleged that 15 houses owned by the union at Marafa Estate were sold shortly before the previous administration left office without due process and called for a probe into the sale.
The NUP also appealed for the provision of an 18-seater bus to support its operations, lamenting that it remains the only trade union in the state without a government-provided vehicle.
NAN
