The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Zamfara Council, has appealed to Governor Bello Matawalle to settle the accumulated pension arrears and gratuities of members

The union also called for immediate review of pension amount to a minimum of N30,000 a month, considering the high cost of living in the country.

The chairman of the Zamfara council, Hassan Muhammad Gusau, appealed in a message to mark the 2021 Pensioners Day on Sunday.

“Every December 11 is designated by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners as Pensioners Day since 2002 and every year comes with its prospect and challenges

“Some of the challenges facing the union include the deliberate disregard for our pensioners and most especially the constitutional requirements of section 173 (3) and 210(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic as amended.

“It stipulates that there should be a pension review every five years or together with an increase of workers salary or whichever comes first.

“Governor Bello Matawalle promised to continue to release N100 million gratuities to the state and local government pensioners each, which is yet to be actualised.

“Another challenge is that the pensioners with a federal share of pension screened by the PTAD is now through information technology or online.”

“The inability to have a minimum pension is very disheartening because many pensioners still receive less than N3,000 a month.

“The union, therefore, calls for upward review of the amount that had not been done since 1999.

“Offset all outstanding gratuities of pensioners once and for all and increase the minimum pension in the state to at least N30,000 a month,” he said.

The chairman assured members that the union would continue with the effort towards improving their welfare.