Usman assures NPA pensioners’ of early resolution of benefits—Binitie reveals
Following a brief protest match carried out Wednesday by some pensioners of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) over non-payment of their benefits at the NPA Headquarters in Marina, Lagos, the reformist Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman has assured the retirees of looking into their matter as soon as possible.
The pensioners, mostly staff retired in 2006, carried placards with various inscription such as ‘NPA is buoyant enough to pay us’; ‘NPA obey court order’ and ‘General Manager, Human Resource, Bukar must go’, among others.
Ayo Charles Binitie who had a brief meeting with his Exco and the managing Director told the press that the protest was embarked upon to register the retired workers’ displeasure over the insensitivity of NPA’s management to their plights.
Part of the concerns of the protesters includes non-review of their pension benefit in more than ten years. Their main argument was that the constitution provides that pensions shall be reviewed every five years.
Binitie added further that Usman is set to inaugurate a committee within three weeks get back to the pensioners on how the Authority has resolved the situation for us to consider.
He explained further that “We have finally met with the NPA Managing Director and she has listened to our demand concerning our benefits on the increase and she has conceded. All we have planned is that by next week Monday, if they have not attended to us, we would have shut down the port industry in Nigeria. But we thank God for a listening MD.
“We have discussed the matter and she has agreed that they will look at all what we have asked for and within now and the next three weeks, they will come out with figures and that has made everything possible for us,” he said.
