Three Years After FG's N25,000 Palliative, Why Are Pensioners Still Waiting for N150,000?- Ekohotblog

Nigerian federal pensioners are no longer asking when the government will pay the N150,000 palliative.

The bigger question now is why they are still waiting for money approved three years ago to cushion the effect of economic hardship.

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The issue has now reached another stage, with the Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria giving the Federal Government 21 days to pay the outstanding amount or face a peaceful protest.

Their deadline is September 10, 2026.

The dispute dates back to 2023, when the Federal Government approved N25,000 monthly for vulnerable pensioners following the removal of the petrol subsidy. The payment was initially approved for three months, but pensioners later demanded an extension to six months.

Six months at N25,000 comes to N150,000.

Three years later, the retirees say they are still waiting for the money.

That is what makes the situation difficult to understand. A palliative is meant to provide immediate relief during a difficult period. It loses much of that purpose when the people it was meant for are still demanding it years later.

In their August 21 letter to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the pensioners said workers had received their six month payment and additional palliatives, while retirees were still waiting for their equivalent.

They also said the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs had been authorised to make the payment when the funds were released and asked the ministry to work with the Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate, which keeps records of Defined Benefit Scheme pensioners.

The retirees also linked the delay to the controversy that surrounded the ministry under former minister Betta Edu, who was suspended by President Bola Tinubu in January 2024.

But three years is too long for an administrative problem to remain unresolved.

If there were difficulties with records, funding or disbursement, those issues should have been addressed by now. Pensioners should not have to carry the consequences of problems within government agencies.

The timing of the latest demand also raises another question.

In July 2026, the Federal Government announced the payment of N39.63bn to 24,814 Defined Benefit Scheme pensioners to settle various outstanding pension liabilities.

The N39.63bn payment is separate from the N150,000 palliative being demanded by the coalition. However, it shows that the government can mobilise funds to settle longstanding pension obligations when the process is put in place.

So, why has this particular payment remained unresolved?

That is an answer the government needs to provide.

For the authorities, N150,000 may appear small compared with billions of naira in pension liabilities. For an elderly pensioner living on a fixed income, the amount can mean something very different.

The pensioners made that point themselves, saying, “We are old citizens and need finance to stay alive.”

Three Years After FG’s N25,000 Palliative, Why Are Pensioners Still Waiting for N150,000?

Their frustration is not new. In 2025, the coalition threatened nationwide protests over the unpaid palliative and pension increment arrears. The House of Representatives also raised concerns over the non payment of the approved pension palliative. Yet the issue has continued into 2026.

The government still has an opportunity to resolve the matter before September 10. It should establish who is entitled to the payment, explain what happened to the outstanding allowance and, where the pensioners are entitled to it, pay the money.

After three years, they are not asking for another promise, they are asking for one they believe was already made.

And that is why this story is bigger than N150,000.

It is about what happens to public trust when a government promise to vulnerable citizens takes years to fulfil.