Lagos pensioners protest, demand payment increase by Aug 31

Hundreds of Lagos pensioners under the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Contributory Pension Scheme, marched through parts of the state on Monday in a warning protest over the delayed implementation of a pension increase they said had been approved but was yet to be effected by the state government and the Lagos State Pension Commission.

The pensioners accused the government and the commission of dragging their feet on the payment of the increase, despite previous assurances that the adjustment would be implemented.

They warned that failure by the government to respond positively by August 31 would trigger a larger protest in Lagos.

The protesters said they were particularly concerned that the delay could extend beyond the tenure of the present administration, leaving elderly pensioners to continue bearing the effects of rising living costs.

Speaking to The PUNCH on Monday, the union’s secretary, Olagbaye Johnson, said the demonstration was intended to give the government a final opportunity to resolve the matter before a larger mobilisation.

“What brought about today’s warning protest is to give the government an ultimatum: if we do not get a response by August 31, there will be a mega protest,” Johnson said.

He said the pensioners expected Lagos to follow through on its commitment to increase benefits for its contributory pensioners, following the Federal Government’s decision to review benefits at the federal level.

“We have been suffering, and President Bola Tinubu approved N758bn for contributory pensioners at the federal level. Whatever happens at the federal level should also happen at the state level because the Contributory Pension Act is exclusive,” he said.

The pensioners said they had previously engaged officials of the Lagos State Government over the matter and were told that the state would implement the increase if the Federal Government did so.

“We met with the Governor’s Office and briefed them on the latest development. We were told that if the Federal Government pays the increase, Lagos State will also pay,” the pensioner said.

Johnson said the pensioners subsequently obtained the template used by the Federal Government and submitted it to the state Head of Service and the leadership of the pension commission.

“Actuarial valuators completed their work in May this year, and since then, there has been foot-dragging. We have been going to the Head of Service, Mr Agoro, and the Governor’s Office, but our people are dying,” he said.

The pensioners also expressed concern that the matter could be inherited by a new administration if it remained unresolved until after the 2027 general election.

“We are concerned that if the election is held, the promise to pay may be transferred to the next administration,” he said.

Johnson said the pensioners had already mobilised across the state and were prepared for a larger demonstration.

“We have mobilised ourselves across our 26 zones in Lagos, and all of us will be at Alausa next week if we do not hear positively from the government,” he said.

Pension commission responds

Rather than directly address the pensioners’ warning protest, the Lagos State Pension Commission issued a statement highlighting the Sanwo-Olu administration’s record on pension payments.

The statement, made available to The PUNCH on Monday, did not specifically state whether the government would meet the pensioners’ August 31 deadline or explain the status of the increase demanded by the protesters.

LASPEC said the Lagos Government had recorded “what stands as the most outstanding performance on pension matters in the history of the State”.

According to the commission, the state had paid N168.2bn to more than 48,000 retirees from 2007 to date, including N92bn in accrued rights to more than 25,000 retirees since Sanwo-Olu assumed office in May 2019.

“Accrued rights, it should be noted, comprise both the gratuity and pension elements owed to a retiring officer, and this administration has prioritised the prompt and full settlement of both components,” the commission said.

LASPEC also highlighted the government’s decision in 2020 to increase pension contributions to 10 per cent for employers and eight per cent for employees, describing it as “a deliberate policy intervention designed to grow the pension fund available to staff at retirement and strengthen the scheme’s sustainability.”

It cited a N5bn payment made to 1,963 retirees in July 2024, which it said “cleared all outstanding backlogs in pension obligations under the CPS”.

The commission further said it had introduced expedited gratuity payments for sick pensioners, while pension components continued to be paid into retirees’ Retirement Savings Accounts.

On welfare support, LASPEC said the government conducted programmes twice a year to provide relief to retirees affected by rising living costs.

The commission also pointed to interventions for pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme, saying the government extended a N25, 000 wage awards to more than 10,000 retirees between December 2023 and February 2024.

It said this was followed by increases of 20 per cent and 28 per cent for the category in March 2025.

“True to this tradition and to sustain the momentum of prompt and consistent payment, LASPEC has, so far this year, paid 1,862 retirees a total of over N4bn, and is poised to disburse a further N1bn to another 700 retirees within the next one week,” it added.

The commission described the payments as evidence of the administration’s “unbroken commitment to clearing pension obligations as they arise”.

However, while the statement provided an extensive account of the government’s pension record, it did not directly address the central demand raised by the pensioners during Monday’s protest: whether and when the latest pension increase they are demanding would be implemented.

The PUNCH placed a call to a public affairs officer with the commission, Titilayo Ajirotutu, to inquire specifically about the warning protest and the threat of escalation.

“I don’t know why they are still going ahead with the protest,” she said. “They have said they should calm down.”

Asked about the pensioners’ claim that the actuarial assessment had been concluded since May and acknowledged by the government, a development they cited as justification for mounting pressure, Ajirotutu disputed the assertion.

“Are they the ones in our office? They are not the ones in government. It is not only LASPEC,” she said, referring to the involvement of multiple agencies in the calculation and disbursement process.

The pensioners, however, have set August 31 as the deadline for a positive response, with their leadership threatening a larger mobilisation at Alausa if the government fails to meet their demand.