Angry federal pensioners have drawn a battle line with the Federal Government, giving it just 21 days to release N150,000 owed each retiree as palliative, or face a peaceful but loud protest.
The ultimatum, issued by the Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria, expires on September 10, 2026.
In a letter dated August 21 and addressed to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the pensioners demanded the payment of the outstanding allowance, describing it as money they desperately need amid the country’s biting economic hardship.
The letter, signed by the coalition’s National Chairman, Ogunbote Mukaila, and National Secretary, Gbadamosi Ganiyu, said the N150,000 represents six months of the N25,000 monthly palliative approved for pensioners by the Federal Government following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
The retirees complained that while workers had received wage-related palliatives, pensioners were still being made to wait for theirs.
They urged the humanitarian affairs ministry to release the funds to the Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate (PTAD), which keeps records of pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme, to facilitate payment.
The coalition said the continued delay had become unbearable for elderly Nigerians already struggling to cope with rising food, transport and healthcare costs.
“We are old citizens and need finance to stay alive,” the pensioners said in their appeal to the minister.
The latest threat adds another chapter to the long-running controversy over the promised N25,000 pension palliative.
The Federal Government announced the intervention in 2023 as part of measures to cushion the impact of the petrol subsidy removal. The payment was initially planned for three months but pensioners subsequently sought a six-month payment, amounting to N150,000 per beneficiary.
The issue has remained contentious, with pensioners repeatedly calling for the outstanding funds to be released.
In May 2025, the House of Representatives urged the relevant ministries and agencies to release outstanding palliative funds meant for pensioners and implement approved pension increases without further delay.
The dispute has also been accompanied by disagreements among pension groups. In July 2025, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners distanced itself from a threatened protest over the N25,000 palliative and pension increment, saying the planned action was not authorised by its leadership.
The retirees’ latest demand comes even as the Federal Government has announced fresh efforts to clear some long-standing pension liabilities.
In July 2026, N39.63 billion was reportedly disbursed to 24,814 Defined Benefit Scheme pensioners through PTAD to settle various outstanding obligations, including pension liabilities and arrears arising from pension increments.
But for the pensioners demanding the N150,000 palliative, the recent payments have not ended their particular grievance.
They are now asking the government to act before their September 10 deadline expires.
Failure to pay, they warned, will trigger a “peaceful but loud protest”, signalling a fresh showdown between the retirees and the Federal Government over the long-delayed palliative.
