The Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPPAN), has refuted a claim by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), that it is the only legally constituted and recognised pensioners’ union in the country.
FEPPPAN in a statement jointly signed by it Acting President-General and General Secretary, Alhaji Babaji Magaji, and Franklin O. Erinle, respectively, said; “the clarification had become necessary to correct some “deliberate misinformation” by NUP in a quest to be part of the National Minimum Wage Review Committee for Workers.
According to FEPPPAN , the assertion that NUP was the only legally recognized body and voice of the entire civil and para-military pensioners in Nigeria was dishonest, mischievous and an attempt to discredit the act of the Federal Government in the regrouping of the old Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP).
The statement further explained that the Federal Government haven seen the heavy workload on the NUP, gave autonomy to pensioners of the Federal Parastatals, Private Sector and those under the new Contributory Pensions in a regrouping exercise carried out by the minister of Labour and employment, in line with the provision in Section 3 (2) of the Trade Unions Act CapT14 of 2004 as amended.
“The NUP chose to fight government over the approval and registration of the two additional Unions for the Nigerian Pensioners, who have different jurisdictional scopes. At the end of the two cases instituted by the NUP, which were lost, the Registrar of Trade Unions issued Certificates of Registration to the two additional Unions in March 2020. This was good news for Nigerian Pensioners, but not for the oppressive and manipulative NUP.
“Rather than working with FEPPPAN, it is apparent to us that the NUP was challenged by our registration. In its present quest to be part of Committee on wage review, the NUP only brought to public view what FEPPPAN has been handling privately with head of Congress because this is an intra-Congress affair.
“The registration of FEPPPAN should have strengthened the position of pensioners in Nigeria if the NUP had accepted to work with the two additional Unions under the NLC rather than trying to abandon or discredit the Nigeria Labour Congress. Inclusion of pensioners in the team is the function of the Labour Centres rather than government’s.
