The Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPPAN) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to extend the newly approved ₦70,000 monthly transport allowance for public servants to pensioners, warning that retirees are being excluded from government efforts to cushion the impact of rising living costs.
The association argued that pensioners face the same transportation expenses as serving workers, particularly when travelling to hospitals for medical treatment, markets to purchase essential goods and other destinations to support their livelihoods.
FEPPPAN questioned the rationale behind excluding retirees from the allowance, insisting that they also bear the burden of rising transport fares and other economic challenges.
The appeal was contained in a statement jointly signed by the association's President-General, Elder Benjamin Amako, and its General Secretary, Mr Franklin Erinle, who called on Tinubu to urgently intervene.
The association clarified that its position was not against the transport allowance approved for serving public servants but against what it described as the neglect of pensioners in government relief programmes.
It also expressed disappointment over the continued delay in the payment of the ₦25,000 monthly subsidy-removal palliative announced by the Federal Government in October 2023, noting that eligible pensioners were yet to receive the promised support.
According to FEPPPAN, the Federal Government had announced the three-month palliative on October 1, 2023, as part of measures to cushion the economic impact of petrol subsidy removal, with vulnerable pensioners identified among the intended beneficiaries.
The association lamented that retirees, many of whom depend entirely on fixed monthly pensions to meet their needs, continue to struggle with the rising costs of food, medication, transportation and other basic necessities without adequate government support.
It urged Tinubu to direct relevant government agencies to expedite the payment of the outstanding subsidy-removal palliative to eligible pensioners and ensure their inclusion in the newly approved ₦70,000 monthly transport allowance.
FEPPPAN maintained that retirees deserve equal consideration in government interventions designed to ease economic hardship, stressing that their years of service to the country should not result in their exclusion from policies aimed at improving citizens' welfare.
