NAHCO Retirees Demand Fair Share of N758bn Pension Fund
Retired workers of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) have appealed to the Federal Government to prioritise them in the next disbursement of President Bola Tinubu’s N758bn pension bond.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Friday, the General Secretary of ex-NAHCo workers, Sanmi Alademomi, said the pensioners were privatised without receiving their rightful entitlements despite being under the Defined Benefits Scheme.
The retirees, totalling 936, took their plight to the Federal Government over the prolonged payment of their one-time severance package since the company became privatised 20 years ago.
They had been embroiled in a spat with NAHCO and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate over unpaid severance pay, which had lingered for more than four years.
Recall that 20 years after their disengagement from service, the ex-workers filed a suit over the non-payment of their terminal and severance benefits.
The group urged the Federal Government to intervene in the bureaucratic bottlenecks that have delayed their settlement and also caused some of the aged ones among them to die without getting their entitlements.
The ex-workers appealed to the president to pay attention to them, emphasising that “Ours is a one-time settlement, and we are grateful for the government’s attention to this matter.”
Alademomi said, “We appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s efforts to clear the backlog of pension arrears through the issuance of N758bn bonds.
“However, we humbly request that ex-workers of NAHCO be given priority in the final disbursement of our benefits.”
He further expressed gratitude to the management of the Bureau of Public Enterprises under the leadership of Ayodeji Gbeleyi for its tireless efforts in ensuring their case receives the attention it deserves.
He added that the cooperation between NAHCO and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate’s legal representatives has also been instrumental in their struggle.
“We hope that our appeal will receive the urgent attention it deserves, and we look forward to a swift resolution to this lingering issue,” he concluded.
