Dozens of aggrieved NITEL–MTEL pensioners on Tuesday blocked the entrance of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, demanding the immediate payment of their outstanding pension arrears and an end to what they described as years of “systemic exclusion and calculated neglect.”

Organised under the Progressive NITEL–MTEL Pensioners’ Forum, the protest drew hundreds of elderly retirees—many visibly frail—who accused the government of denying them their lawful entitlements under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

SaharaReporters learned that the retirees chanted solidarity songs and carried placards condemning the Ministry of Finance, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) for allegedly abandoning them despite decades of loyal service to Nigeria.

According to the pensioners, the current administration inherited 36 months of unpaid arrears owed specifically to NITEL–MTEL retirees, but has only cleared one month so far, leaving 35 months outstanding.

Several protesters who spoke with journalists lamented that many of their colleagues had died due to lack of money for medication, food, and basic survival needs.

“We are not begging. We worked for this country,” one retiree said. “Government paid others under DBS but left us out deliberately.”

Pensioners Decry Exclusion from ₦32,000 Pension Increase

A core grievance raised at the protest was the exclusion of NITEL–MTEL pensioners from the recently approved ₦32,000 pension increase granted to other DBS retirees.

The pensioners described the exclusion as discriminatory, unlawful, and “a clear attempt to erase us from Nigeria’s retirement system.”

Their Demands

The protesters called on the federal government to urgently address the following:

• Immediate payment of the 35 months outstanding pension arrears
• Inclusion in the ₦32,000 pension increase, with full arrears and backdated adjustments
• Settlement of the 12.95% pension increase (2020) balance
• Payment of arrears for the 10.66% adjustment (2015)
• Release of the pending ₦25,000 palliative for NITEL–MTEL retirees
• Payment of verified death benefits to next-of-kin
• Placement on payroll of verified pensioners who have remained unpaid since 2018
• Coordinated action between PTAD, NSIWC, the Ministry of Finance, and the Office of the Accountant-General to end bureaucratic delays

“Government Is Killing Pensioners Softly” — Forum Spokesperson

Speaking to journalists, the forum’s spokesperson, Okey Ifepe, said bureaucracy and silence from government agencies were contributing to the deaths of impoverished retirees.

“Every day justice is delayed, a pensioner suffers or dies quietly,” he said. “Today we came out because we refuse to remain invisible.”