By Eniola Philip
Retirees, under the aegis of Nigerian Union of Pensioners, FBN branch, Ibadan, on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest in Ibadan, decrying poor pays from their former employer, First Bank Nigeria Limited.
They staged the protest at the front of the Southwest Regional Office of First Bank, Dugbe, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The retirees, elderly men and women, who alleged that their pensions had not been increased in the last 20 years, stood united in a protest born of desperation and decades of what they felt was injustice.
Their spokespersons, Prince Debo Olaoya, Olusola Adekoya, and Sanjo Akanmu, said despite their faithful service to the bank, their monthly pensions are demeaning and degrading.
They stated that 75 per cent of them were surviving on a meagre N15,000 monthly pension, an amount they said was not enough to feed a dog in a day.
They argued that with the national minimum wage at N70,000 , their pension should be at least N60,000. They also sought an increase in their N30,000 annual medical allowance and the release of a N300 billion trust fund that they claimed was set up for them by the bank’s founders.
According to them,for two decades, their pensions had not been reviewed, a blatant disregard for a law that mandated a review every five years. They said the demonstration held February 18, 2025 yielded no results, as their pension for that month remained a paltry N15,000.
The pensioners said if their demands were not met, they vowed to bombard all the bank with more protests.
Olaoya said: ‘’We are here to protest against how FBN is treating us, the retirees. The bank is not interested in our welfare. For example, 75 per cent of pensioners earn a pension of about N15,000 per month. This cannot do anything. We are demanding an increase in our pension. We have been protesting for many years without positive results from the Bank.
‘’Our demand an increase our package. Now, I told you, 75 per cent of us earn N15,000 pension. 30,000 Naira medical, per year, per annum. If you want to buy two packets of drugs now, you know what it is. We are now asking for enhancement of our pension’’.
On his part, Akanmu said: ‘ First Bank is treating us in an inhuman manner. Many of us had opportunities to swindle,and embezzle in this bank, but we kept our name.We’ve been talking to them,negotiating, but they’ve been playing us here and there’’.
Also speaking, Adekoya said:’’It’s a peaceful demonstration, which by law is allowed. We are appealing to them to enhance our pensions. It should be at least N60,000, something close to the minimum wage, which now is N70,000’’.
The Regional Management staff of the bank received the protesters. The management staff promised to pass their grievances to the Management of the Bank in Lagos. They assured the retirees of prompt responses to their demands.
‘’We will pass your message to the Management of the Bank in Lagos. You will soon see their positive responses now’’, the Regional Management staff of the Bank numbering four who refused to mention their names for lack of authorisation to speak, told journalists.
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