In the upcoming 2023 general elections, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) South-West zone ordered all of its members not to vote for any governor or government that owes pensioners their dues.
The instruction was passed as part of the zone’s quarterly meeting, which was held in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.
The union also told its members in the zone to protest the non-implementation of consequential pension adjustments resulting from the N30,000 minimum wage’s implementation.
According to the union, Nigerian governors owe pension payments in the region of a trillion naira.
The conference was attended by the chairmen and secretary of the union’s state chapters in Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Lagos, and Ekiti.
Olusegun Abatan, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the NUP, South-West zone, told journalists shortly after the meeting that the governors in the zone owed pensioners billions of naira in gratuities and pensions.
“We want to advise our members to please shine their eyes and should not be carried away by the sentiment of the politicians. We will not succumb to the pittance the politicians are going to give us.”
“We are not saying that we are going to boycott the election, we are not saying that we are not going to vote,” Abatan clarified, “but what we are saying is that pensioners should not vote for governors and governments who owe them money.”
