Police use tear gas against pensioners in Lagos State
Police in Nigeria’s Lagos State used tear gas against pensioners who had gathered near Lagos House in Ikeja. They demanded the payment of arrears from pension increases, outstanding entitlements and other benefits.
According to Premium Times Nigeria, citing the Vanguard newspaper, participants in the protest included members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners and pensioners under the contributory pension scheme. They came to the government building to press the Lagos State government to implement the increases and settle the arrears that, they said, had accumulated.
Protest on deadline day
After the gas was used, some protesters left the area near Lagos House. The protest took place on a day that the pensioners had previously set as the deadline for resolving their demands.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
They warned that they would hold a larger demonstration on August 31 if the state authorities did not respond, including on the issue of pension increases and outstanding entitlements.
Dispute over increases
Nigeria’s National Pension Commission had previously urged the Lagos State government to extend the periodic pension increases received by members of the defined benefit scheme to pensioners under the contributory scheme as well.
The Lagos State Pension Commission had previously stated that the government paid 168 billion naira to approximately 48,000 pensioners. At the same time, the protesters continue to complain about unpaid increases and other payments, citing financial pressure due to the rising cost of living. As of the time of publication, the state authorities and police had not commented on the incident.
