Peter Obi Speaks as Nationwide Protest Looms, "Difficult Times"
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering public affairs and governance.
FCT, Abuja - Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, has said he is 'deeply concerned' about the plight of pensioners in Nigeria.
Legit.ng reports that in a statement he signed and shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday, September 17, Obi lamented that diligent people who served Nigeria are not properly treated.
Source: Facebook
Peter Obi tackles Tinubu's govt
The presidential hopeful tweeted:
"I read with deep concern that our pensioners, men and women who gave the most productive years of their lives in service to our country, have been pushed to contemplate a nationwide protest over unpaid arrears."
Earlier in September, President Bola Tinubu declared that Nigeria had met its revenue target for 2025 ahead of schedule and would no longer rely on borrowing to fund its budget.
Addressing stakeholders of The Buhari Organisation who visited him at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, President Tinubu said his administration’s non-oil revenue drive had yielded enough to meet this year’s projections by August, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on external loans.
Aiming a dig at the president, Obi said:
"Mr. President announced that Nigeria had reached its revenue target. If that is true, then the moral question is simple: why are our senior citizens, who worked, served, and sacrificed, still owed their rightful pensions and gratuities? Revenue growth should first reflect in the lives of the people, especially those in difficult times."
Furthermore, Obi argued that the "excess revenue" Nigeria celebrates under Tinubu must not remain on paper.
He concluded:
"It (the excess revenue) must be directed to settle our obligations to pensioners, to restore their dignity, and to assure the working population that Nigeria values their labour and service. Anything less is unjust and unacceptable. Good Leadership and compassion are inseparable."
Legit.ng reports that pensioners recently threatened to stage a nationwide protest if the federal government fails to pay the backlog of seven months’ arrears of the N32,000 pension increment and the N25,000 palliatives by the end of September.
President Tinubu approved an increase of N32,000 per month for retirees under the defined benefits scheme in August 2024.
Legit.ng gathered that since the approval, pensioners were paid from August 2024 to January 2025, but owed from February to August 2025.
Regarding the N25,000 palliatives, it was learnt that pensioners have not received any payment since the announcement.
Speaking on the planned protest on Tuesday, September 16, in Lagos, Mukaila Ogunbote, the chairman of the Coalition of Federal Pensioners, Lagos chapter, lamented that despite repeated demands, the government has refused to pay, describing it as poor treatment of senior citizens.
Obi meets Afenifere faction
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Obi led a delegation to visit leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, in Lagos, ahead of the 2027 election.
Obi was accompanied by former LP governorship candidate in Lagos state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour; national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko; and other associates.
Afenifere spokesperson, Justice Faloye, said Obi’s visit was to “express gratitude for the support given during his 2023 presidential campaign."
Source: Legit.ng
