Retired NAMA workers demand unpaid pension increments

Retired employees of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency are demanding that the government honour its commitment to increase their pensions, which have remained unpaid since 2007.

Despite multiple directives from regulatory bodies, pensioners claim NAMA has failed to implement the required adjustments, leaving many retirees struggling financially.

A pensioner who spoke anonymously to The Punch, said he worked as a maintenance engineer for nearly three decades and highlighted the critical role he and his colleagues played in keeping Nigeria’s aviation sector operational.

“I was a maintenance engineer. All the planes flying now and the equipment they are using, we are the ones servicing it. Okay. We are the ones responsible for the purchase. When you hear that plane can land night and day, even in bad weather, it is our equipment. So, we are the core of the aviation,” he explained.

He lamented that many retirees are suffering due to the stagnant pensions.

“The government should intervene and get our rights paid to us. Many of us are dying of hunger. Many have even died. They should not forget us and see that our right is paid to us within a short period after this,” he said.

He further detailed how their pensions were initially paid but have not been adjusted as mandated.

“Our accrued pension was paid. We are now asking for the increment. The government ordered them. So a pension was paid to our Pension Fund Administration. And the government now said every five years. These things should be paid to us to make our pension even more meaningful. Right from that time till now, it’s the one naira I’ve been receiving till now,” he said.

The pensioner also accused NAMA of disregarding government directives, leaving many retirees in financial distress.

“They are denying us our rights. Which government has even stated, not like we are begging them. It’s our right. When we wrote to them, they said we don’t deserve anything from them,” he lamented.

Another retiree, Stephen, a former Director of Air Traffic Services, provided further insight into the pension dispute, stating that NAMA failed to disclose pension calculations, making it impossible to determine or increase payments.

“Our public servant is in Nigeria. We retired in 2004 due to the Pension Reform Act. NAMA is a self-funded agency. And by 2007, when the thing commenced, we ought to have calculated the accrued pension, the monthly pension, for the pensioners that were retired before the contribution pension. So, NAMA never disclosed accrued pensions,” he explained.

According to Stephen, despite multiple official requests, NAMA has refused to act on pension increases.

They didn’t increase any pension since 2007. When the pension was supposed to be increased. So, you have several circulars to that. And PENCOM wrote to NAMA several times to increase the pension, pay the pension, and increase the pension of the employees. But NAMA did not respond positively,” he said.

He also referenced a crucial letter from PENCOM to NAMA, dated April 23, 2015, which reaffirmed the agency’s obligation to implement pension increases in line with constitutional provisions.

“Section 15(4) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 requires that the accrued pension rights and entitlements of the Public Service of the Federation shall be reviewed by the Federal Government of Nigeria from time to time in line with the provisions of Section 173 of the constitution as amended,” the letter stated.

“Please note that all increases due to the affected employees/ex-employees arising from the review shall be remitted directly into the beneficiary’s Retirement Savings Account as required by Section 15(4) of the PRA 2014. The increase shall form part of the balance of the employee’s RSA that shall be accessed on retirement,” it further stated.

Despite these clear legal mandates, Stephen noted that NAMA has continued to ignore pensioners’ pleas.

“NAMA never responded. And then there are some other letters, even the ones they wrote to the Federal Monetary Foundation, claiming that they are not owing the retirees, but that is not true. We have debunked that,” he said.