Minimum wage: Kwara pensioners canvass for national minimum pension

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Kwara Chapter, has appealed to Kwara Government, to approve the national minimum pension for pensioners in the state and 16 Local Government councils, to improve their well-being.

The Union made the plea in Ilorin Wednesday, in a statement signed by the Chairman, Alhaji Saidu Iladimeji, and the Secretary, Mr Samuel lbidoja.

According to the statement several pensioners from the state and local government service, who still receive monthly pensions as low as N4,000 are finding it difficult to survive with their families

The statement said the union was backing the current demand of N30,000 minimum wage by organised labour.

The union in the statement expressed optimism that the N30,000 minimum wage when approved and implemented would no doubt have positive effect on the lives of pensioners in the state.

According to the Union, the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that “pension shall be reviewed every five years or together with any Federal Civil Service salary reviews.

The statement said that the last pension salary was reviewed in July 2010 in Kwara, the situation it said brought untold hardship on several pensioners in the state

The statement also appealed to Local Government Pensions Board to implement the 20 per cent salary increase harmonization of year 2010 for affected pensioners, who retired from the 16 Local Government councils in the state.

The statement stated that retirees from the 16 Local Government councils were living in abject poverty.