Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has described as unacceptable the exclusion of senior citizens from the proposed National Conference by the government.
According to a protest letter signed by the President of the union, Comrade Abel Afolayan, to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, the union said, as the only union registered with Ministry of Labour, it should be the one to nominate delegates out of the six slots given for retirees to the conference.
The letter said: “But to our greatest dismay, we discovered that the union was sidelined by council of Retired Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS) who have nominated the six delegates to represent the entire retirees across the nation.”
The letter, which was copied the Head of Service of the Federation, and NLC President, Abdulwaheed Omar, added: “It is our conviction that our union should have been consulted over this matter because we are the major stakeholders representing the interest of the entire Civil Service retirees/pensioners.
“Ironically, other related retirees’ Associations such as the Military, the Police, State Security Service, were all given slots to represent the interests of their members with the exception of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners. Regrettably, the presence of the National President of the union at the office of the SGF on the 5th of March, 2014 to protest this oversight was rebuffed by the Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) of the office of the SGF.”
