Oladipo Bolade (Asst. National Sec. ANLCA)
The non payment of retirees benefit is not in NPA alone, but one could say it’s a misnomer because if somebody has served a particular organization for several years and its time for you to enjoy your retirement which is just the meagre sum and what you are to be given is still being held down by some group of people, it is a sin against humanity and its not too good. But be that as it may, my advice is that they should still press on because it is their right and if you are being deprived of it, the only way out is to continue to fight for it until you are paid your entitlements. The situation is disheartening, but since they have been able to gather themselves under one body I will advice that they forge ahead and fight for their right. They should again make a presentation to the National Assembly and to the appropriate ministry they actually work with, they should continue to appeal to the ministry of transport under which NPA is domiciled. The National Assembly is also there, at least if one is being victimized and your rights are being trampled upon, we are in a democracy let them write to the House for them to legislate on it.
Olorogun Ugwi A.I (Retiree)
I am a retired officer although not of NPA, but I have not made efforts to pursue my retirement benefits because of all these experiences. One thing that is that those who are responsible for these predicament should understand that they too are equally employed just like the retirees were and retirement is the best way out of federal government service. There are other options such as: death dismissal or termination, and as a human being and a God fearing person I think the best option is retirement. The retirees are not creating the problem for themselves; it is people in power that are holding the money so they are the ones we should be advising, the retirees even in the army do die in course of pursuing their benefits. My advice to them is not to be lazy, they should look at those in power as usurpers, people who want to steal what does not belong to them, they are stealing with their pen, government has released this fund but they keep it in their private account to yield interest but they can never do anything good with it, but the retirees should come close to God and not be lazy, they should invest in themselves and trust in themselves, if I collect my retirement today I can use it to do whatever I like because I am comfortable. So they should not just go and be using all their powers and their might to pursue their benefits, they should find something doing and above all, trust in God.
David Kanikwu (Director General, ANLCA)
They are not supposed to take laws into their hands, since they have gone through all the normal process which include going to the court, then they should seek for the enforcement of the court order, since the ministry has written and still NPA management refused to obey, they should go and seek redress from the court because the NPA management have committed what is called contempt of court order. Since they have started legally, they can not take laws into their hands, they should maybe subpoena NPA for contempt of court, the court that gave the first ruling should be made to know that NPA flouted the court order and also the retirees should continue to appeal to the conscience of the public who will now help them to cry out.
Segunmaru Musa (PRO, ANLCA, PTML chapter)
There is an adage that says that you should be careful of the way you treat people on your way up because you never know when you will need them again. The court has given the order for NPA to release this money, but they still refused to do so, its only God that can touch their heart especially the managing director and let him see what the people are going through. This is the cause of the corruption that we see in the system today, when you served your country for years and you know that at the end of it all, there is no pension for you; you might be tempted to steal and save for your retirement. If the retirees want to get their money and entitlements it’s a very simple issue, let them revolt, revolution is the only answer since the court has given the order and they have approached the National Assembly, they have nothing to lose by revolting, it is only through this that they can get their benefit, but if they continue to play the role of good citizens they are just waiting their time.
Deacon Dike Kalu (Ex-NPA worker)
My advice to the people concerned is to continue the agitation through the union, I believe they have a body and that body has been doing a nice job, in the past we discover that some batch were retired and were not paid their entitlements, but through the union and the agitation from the retirees, NPA paid the money then. The problem is that most of the managing directors of NPA are aware of the problems being faced by these retirees, the moment a new minister comes on board the matter goes back to square one with each minister taking his own approach and it will take a long time before he now acquaint himself with the situation, this has been so for the last three ministers that we have had. I advice that the National Assembly is still the only means of solving this problem because the more we depend on the minister of transport to address the issue, the more prolonged it becomes, so the best bet is to approach the National Assembly committee on marine transport which I believe will have records of the number of time they have been approached by the retirees, they have been on the case since the word go. I will also advocate that those that have died in this struggle should be compiled, when the money is available, let them give it to their families, they cannot work for Nigeria and at their retirement be paid 2,000 or 3,000, it is very bad. So I advice that they should keep pressing and pressurizing through the National Assembly which I believe is the only way.
Cosmas Ndimkora (Vice chairman, NAGAFF, PTML)
Since the court has given the directive and NPA still refuse to comply, it means they don’t have the respected for rule of law. I believe its part of the ills of the society, there is an element in our system that is flawed and until we get it right we can’t experience changes. How will you feel, having worked for your country tirelessly for thirty or thirty five years and the little benefit that is assigned to you as pensions is not being given, of course nobody will feel happy, I lost my father who was into this kind of mess too, its been with us for long but I want to tell the retirees to keep praying to God because that is the only solution, and I believe with this, there is light at the end of the tunnel for them all.
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