Retired workers in Nigeria’s electricity sector on Wednesday appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in what they described as years of withheld pension benefits, unpaid arrears, and discriminatory treatment against pensioners of the defunct National Electric Power Authority and Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the South-West zone of the Electricity Sector Retirees Welfare Association accused the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate of frustrating pension adjustments approved by the Federal Government and worsening the hardship faced by retirees.
The association’s South-West Vice President, Adegbuyi Ganiyu, and Zonal Secretary, Oladigboye Gabriel, said the briefing was convened as a “save our souls” appeal to the Tinubu administration over what they termed repeated policy reversals and unfair treatment of electricity sector pensioners.
The retirees lamented that pensioners of the NEPA and PHCN had repeatedly been excluded from pension increments and welfare packages granted to other categories of federal pensioners.
According to the association, the affected benefits include the 10.6 per cent, 12.9 per cent, 20 per cent, and 28 per cent pension adjustments, as well as the N32,000 pension increment linked to the new N70,000 national minimum wage.
The group said the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission issued a circular dated January 14, 2026, excluding pensioners from the former National Electric Power Authority and Power Holding Company of Nigeria from the listed benefits and replacing them with a 13.8 per cent adjustment.
Meanwhile, efforts by The PUNCH to reach the office of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission for comments proved abortive. The commission directed our correspondent to submit an email request for clarification. An email has since been sent, but no response has been received at the time of filing this report.
The retirees argued that the commission lacked the legal powers to arbitrarily determine pension awards and accused it of acting outside its statutory mandate.
The association said the commission justified the exclusion on the grounds that electricity sector workers operated under a special salary structure distinct from the mainstream civil service.
However, the retirees argued that the special salary structure was created by the Federal Government in recognition of the technical and hazardous nature of electricity sector operations and should not be used as a basis for denying pensioners benefits enjoyed by others.
The association revealed that the commission had, over the years, approved and later reversed several pension adjustments affecting electricity sector retirees. It stated that the commission directed the PTAD to begin payment of arrears relating to the 12.9 per cent pension increase in January 2025, with 21 months reportedly paid and the balance deferred, subject to the availability of funds.
According to the group, the PTAD later paid 24 months of arrears linked to the 10.6 per cent increase covering July 2021 to December 2025, before another circular from the Salaries Commission allegedly reversed the payments on the grounds that they were made in error.
The retirees described the reversal as unlawful and accused the commission of undermining executive directives aimed at cushioning the effects of economic hardship on pensioners.
The association also claimed that electricity sector pensioners were denied other relief measures introduced by the Federal Government, including the N25,000 fuel subsidy removal palliative.
Meanwhile, the press conference comes two days after the PTAD announced on its X handle the completion of payment of outstanding one-month arrears of the N32,000 pension increment to eligible pensioners under the defined benefit scheme.
PTAD said a total of N1,734,592,000 was disbursed to 54,206 pensioners, marking full settlement of arrears arising from the pension increment approved by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, which took effect from July 29, 2024.
According to the agency, the payment was executed across two departments. Under the Parastatals Pension Department, 25,804 pensioners received N825,728,000, while under the Tertiary Education and Health Pension Department, 28,402 pensioners received N908,864,000.
Beyond the pension increments, the retirees accused the PTAD of delaying the payment of several inherited pension liabilities, including monetisation, harmonisation, electricity rebates, and staggered arrears.
The group said the agency conducted a verification and back-end recomputation exercise in 2023 aimed at correcting pension records and payments, but failed to complete the process after errors allegedly emerged.
According to the association, some retirees who benefited from upward pension reviews have yet to receive their accrued arrears, while others experienced reductions in their monthly pensions over claims of overpayment.
The group stated that PTAD was frustrating the deduction and remittance of union check-off dues belonging to the Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria.
The retirees called for the immediate removal of the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, accusing him of remaining in office beyond the tenure allowed by law and interfering in pension administration.
Among other demands, the association called for the immediate withdrawal of the January 2026 circular excluding electricity pensioners from pension adjustments, payment of all outstanding arrears tied to the 10.6 per cent and 12.9 per cent pension increases, implementation of the 20 per cent and 28 per cent pension awards, payment of the N32,000 minimum wage-related pension increment, and settlement of the N25,000 fuel subsidy palliative.
The retirees warned that they could embark on nationwide protests if their demands were ignored by the Federal Government. “We have run out of patience as we die by the day,” the association said.
A former executive of the association, Timothy Akintola, said the controversy stems from what he described as a misunderstanding of the mandate of the Salaries Commission and the structure of electricity sector pensions.
Akintola argued that the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission was established strictly to regulate salaries and wages of serving workers, not to interfere with pension entitlements.
According to him, “The commission was set up to regulate salaries and income of serving workers, not to administer or alter pension rights after retirement.” He said pension administration for retired electricity workers falls under defined benefit arrangements inherited from the defunct National Electric Power Authority and Power Holding Company of Nigeria, governed by established conditions of service and federal approvals.
Akintola further argued that retirees who moved into the pension system after 2007 were expected to be covered under the contributory pension scheme, while those already retired remained under defined benefit arrangements that cannot be unilaterally altered to their disadvantage.
He also claimed that government approvals for pension increases had already been captured in official budgetary processes following negotiations and agreements reached before the privatisation of the power sector.
He said retirees had, at various times, engaged government institutions, including the National Assembly, and that some entitlements were approved but delayed due to verification and biometric exercises introduced by pension administrators.
“The approvals are there. They were captured in the budget. What remains is implementation, not renegotiation,” he said.
Akintola also criticised repeated reversals of pension payments, arguing that once pension benefits are approved, they should not be withdrawn or reduced.
