Retirees stage protest, demand N32,000 pension benefits, unpaid arrears

Aggrieved retirees of the defunct Arab Bank and Assurance Bank on Wednesday staged a protest in Lagos, accusing regulatory authorities of neglect and demanding the payment of pension benefits, gratuities and long-overdue entitlements.

The demonstration took place at the office of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) located within the old Secretariat at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos Island.

The retirees, representing about 1,020 former employees nationwide, called on the Federal Government to intervene in what they described as two decades of hardship following the liquidation of the banks.

They lamented that many of them currently receive less than N10,000 monthly as pension despite the approved N32,000 minimum pension threshold.

Retirees demand pension justice

The peaceful protest drew dozens of elderly demonstrators carrying placards with inscriptions such as, “Today, today, PTAD must answer us,” “20yrs on: No gratuities and retirement benefits. CBN, NDIC, why?” and “After 32 years of service, where is our 32k pension palliatives?”

The retirees alleged that although they were absorbed into PTAD in 2019, their benefits have not been aligned with those of regular Federal Government pensioners.

Speaking during the protest, former Assurance Bank employee, Idowu Oshikoya, said many affected retirees remain trapped in poverty despite years of service.

“We are ex-staff of the defunct Arab Bank and Assurance Bank. We worked, and we are qualified to be paid pension. Up till now, many of us are here to be paid; even those who are paid are not sufficiently paid,” he said.

Mr Oshikoya further claimed that the retirees were excluded from the N32,000 pension palliative approved for pensioners.

“Many of us here, our pension is under N10,000. I don’t know how we can survive with that,” he added.

Questions over liquidated assets

The protesters also raised concerns about the assets left behind following the liquidation of the two banks, questioning how the proceeds were managed.

Another retiree, Mr Bola Olaniyan, said repeated letters sent to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Central Bank of Nigeria had allegedly gone unanswered.

“It was the NDIC that liquidated us, and this has been for about 20 years. For 20 years, some of our members have not been paid a dime. We wrote to the NDIC, we wrote to the CBN, but they never deemed it fit to reply to us,” he said.

Mr Olaniyan argued that several bank assets, including vehicle fleets and other properties, could have been sold to offset outstanding obligations owed to retirees.

“Enough is enough” — Protesters

The retirees described their monthly pensions as inadequate and unsustainable amid rising living costs.

“PTAD will look us in the face and give us N12,000 as pension at the end of the month. Some could not even afford transport to get to this place. Enough of this nonsense. It is either they give us our money, or we die here,” Mr Olaniyan stated.

The protesters noted that many former staff members across the country were too old, weak or financially constrained to participate in the demonstration, leaving the Lagos chapter to lead the agitation.

They vowed to continue peaceful protests until their pensions are adjusted to the N32,000 minimum benchmark and outstanding arrears dating back to 2009 are fully paid.

As of the time of filing this report, PTAD, the NDIC and the CBN had not issued any official response to the demands.