By; FUNMI ADERINTO, Kaduna
Kaduna State Chapter of Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) has reiterated its support for Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s administration and has promised to vote for the candidate that will sustain his legacies.
The union which commended the el-Rufai-led administration for not only aligning pension with the minimum wage of N30,000 monthly, added that Kaduna State Government pays the entitlements of its members promptly.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the pensioners said that they have enjoyed tremendous benefits, including improved welfare, from the state government.
Speaking on behalf of the union, the Kaduna State Secretary, Comrade Alhassan Balarabe Musa, said that the benefits that his members have been enjoying is unprecedented in the history of the union since inception over 30 years ago.
According to him, ‘’Kaduna State Government is the first in the federation that implemented the minimum pension of N30,000 since the year 2020.’
‘’ More than 11,000 pensioners benefited from this increase. To our knowledge, the Kaduna State Government is the only state in the country that has increased pension to align with the minimum wage,’’ he added.
Comrade Musa further said that the el-Rufai administration also promptly pays their monthly pension, adding that most of the times, state pensioners receive their monthly pensions before the state workers receive their salaries.
It would be recalled that the state government was said to have inherited liability of fifteen billion Naira (N15 billion) in 2015 of Gratuity and Death Benefits from the previous administration.
‘’ By the end of 2022, the current administration has settled/paid this inherited liabilities to our members. Apart from the N15 billion which has been cleared, the administration has paid additional N20 billion to pensioners as gratuity and death benefits,’’ he added.
The NUP State Secretary pointed out that the administration also introduced I AM ALIVE thumb printing verification exercise for pensioners.
‘’This has eliminated the sufferings of the regular screening/verification exercise that used to characterized pension payment in the State. It is noteworthy that the Federal Government is now emulating this verification method for Federal pensioners,’’ he added.
Comrade Musa further said that, ‘’In view of the above mentioned good polices of the Governor el-Rufai administration, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Kaduna State Chapter appeals to all the pensioners in the state to vote for the governorship candidate who will sustain these progressive policies that will improve their welfare.’’
