Retirees of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have threatened to shut down ports across the country over 16 years of unpaid pension increments.
The pensioners, under the Nigerian ports authority pensioners welfare association, issued a warning on Sunday, stating that industrial action would begin within seven days if their demands are not addressed.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Charles Ayo Binitie, its president said the planned action may include the disruption of port operations nationwide.
He said the protest was triggered by what he described as the NPA’s failure to implement the constitutionally approved five-year pension review, which he claimed has not been applied since 2008.
“It is sad and regrettable to say the least, that amid the present high inflation rate and economic downturn in Nigeria, only a few NPA retirees receive up to N100,000, while more than 50 per cent of them earn between N50,000 to as low as N30,000 monthly,” Binitie said.
He further criticised what he described as arbitrary adjustments to pension increments, insisting that they fall short of legal requirements.
“Notwithstanding the fact that the NPA remains a first-grade parastatal like the NNPC, its retirees were paid peanuts, and their so-called pay rise falls short of the constitutional provision in Section 173, Subsection 3,” he added.
According to him, the law provides for pension reviews every five years and whenever salaries of serving workers are increased, but this has allegedly not been observed by the agency.
Binitie said repeated appeals to relevant authorities, including the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and the Presidency through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, have yielded no response.
“The NPA is yet to furnish the Wages Commission with its documents for over 15 years now, so that the necessary upward review can be made,” he said.
He also dismissed claims of internal division within the association, insisting that leadership disputes had been resolved through court rulings, including a 2025 judgment affirming his position as president.
The pensioners are now calling on the federal government to intervene urgently and compel the NPA to clear all outstanding arrears, including pension adjustments linked to the 2024 minimum wage review.
The planned industrial action, if carried out, could disrupt operations at Nigeria’s seaports, which remain critical to the country’s import and export activities.
