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By Bimbola Oyesola
Against the backdrop of economic hardship in the country, pensioners of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have charged the governor, Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, to promptly approve payment of palliatives to them.
The pensioners, in a Save Our Souls letter to the CBN signed by the chairman of the group, Mr. Joseph Usifo, and secretary, Mr. Olufemi Adebayo, said they need the payment now, “as a matter of urgent necessity, to enable us cope with the present severe hardship bedeviling us, right now, arising from the removal of fuel subsidy and the fluctuation of the naira in the foreign exchange market.”
Congratulating the CBN governor on his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the acknowledging the enormity of the task ahead of him, the pensioners expressed their confidence that the governor was capable of surmounting them.
They noted that policies of the government, which foisted hardship on Nigerians, were conceived with very good intentions but their unintended fallout and practical consequences have created serious problems for the citizenry.
They stated that this informed the decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the state governments and some organizations in the public and the private sectors of the economy to introduce palliative measures or payments for their workers and their pensioners, in the interim, pending when the payment of the new minimum wage and the subsequent next upward review of pensions will be effected.
“Specifically, the implementation of those policy measures has, unfortunately, resulted in hyperinflation in the economy thus very significantly eroding the purchasing power or the real value of our current pension.
“For instance, the purchasing power or the real value of our current pension is not up to 40% of what it was by this time last year or even nine months ago,” they said.
Stating that they were aware that the umbrella body of the CBN pensioners and the retirees, the CBN Pensioners/Retirees Club, wrote the governor in October last year on the same issue and a follow-up through a Communique dated December 1, 2023, specifically appealing for approval of a three-month pension payment in the interim as a palliative, pending the next upward review of pension, but, regrettably, up till this moment, there has not been any positive response.
The pensioners lamented that, “meanwhile CBN pensioners continue to die in droves under the present hardship without receiving this palliative, which is an ongoing national policy.”
They added that “As now physically frail, aging and ailing senior citizens, who served in a very reputable institution like the CBN, we are not expected to embark on street protests or demonstrations for us to be given what is due to us, hence this our humble plea,” they pleaded.
Adding that CBN as the No. 1 and foremost financial institution in the country, is expected to be in the lead in the implementation of Federal Government policy measures like the one under discussion, that are beneficial to the people, including pensioners.
They said, “Sir, as a very humane and compassionate leader which we believe you are, we are therefore very eagerly awaiting your positive response to this our plea by your expeditiously approving a palliative payment for us.
“Even if it is going to be slightly less than the three (3) months pension payment we earlier requested, it will still be very highly appreciated, especially if it is paid along with our April, 2024 pension.”
