“Enough Is Enough: Pensioners Threaten Nationwide ‘Naked’ Protest October 6 Over Tinubu Govt’s Failure to Pay Increments, Palliatives”

The Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria has issued a stern ultimatum to the administration of President Bola Tinubu, threatening a dramatic nationwide “naked protest” beginning October 6 if the government fails to implement long-promised pension increments and palliatives.

Speaking at a news conference in Lagos on Tuesday, the coalition’s National Chairman, Mr. Mukaila Ogunbote, who also chairs the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NIPOST Chapter), declared that pensioners had exhausted their patience after giving the government ample time to honor its commitments.

“We gave the government until September to pay our arrears, increments, and palliatives. If nothing is done, we shall have no choice but to bare our frustrations before the whole world. Our nakedness will be a symbol of how exposed and abandoned this government has left us,” Ogunbote warned.

He recalled that in October 2023, President Tinubu approved N35,000 in palliatives for workers and N25,000 for pensioners. While workers received theirs within weeks, pensioners remain unpaid nearly a year later.

“Workers have since demanded and collected ten months’ worth of palliatives, yet our requests for just six months are ignored. The President also directed an increase of N13,000 in pensions, but the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant-General have failed to act. We were even told that our N32,000 increment was omitted from the 2024 and 2025 budgets. This is nothing short of injustice,” he lamented.

Ogunbote stressed that the looming protest is not an act of rebellion but a desperate cry for dignity. “After serving this nation for decades, we cannot continue to live in hunger and humiliation. Pensioners are dying daily from neglect.”

The development comes amid growing unrest within the pension community. Just a day earlier, aggrieved retired police officers announced plans to resume their own nationwide demonstrations on September 29.

Gathering at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where they expressed solidarity with activist Omoyele Sowore in his legal battle with Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, the retired officers decried what they described as decades of “injustice, betrayal, and slave-like pensions” under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

They accused successive police chiefs of negotiating reforms that benefited only senior officers — from AIGs upward — while consigning rank-and-file policemen to poverty after 35 years of service.

As both pensioners and retired officers prepare for mass action, the Tinubu administration now faces mounting pressure to address what many describe as a ticking time bomb of pension injustice.