We are dying,pensioners tell Buhari

THE Nigerian Union of Pensioners, South West zone, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the case of pensioners in the zone.
This was contained in a letter to the president, entitled: “Myriad of problems of Nigerian pensioners and issues of local government pensioners and retired primary school teachers,” made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday.
The letter, which was signed by the South West chairman, Alhaji Nojeem Ibrahim and secretary, Mr Olusegun Abatan, noted that pensioners had become endangered species.
Decrying the state of retired primary school teachers and local government retirees, they said untold hardship, which had led to disability and premature death, had been the lot of some members.
They also traced the cause of the problem to the withdrawal of five per cent counterpart fund payment to Local Government Pensions Board by Federal Government in 2010.
The senior citizens urged Buhari, as a matter of urgency, to put machineries in place to reinstate the payment, including accrued arrears.