Pensioners in Lagos State were on Monday met with police resistance as they protested at the Lagos House in Ikeja over unpaid entitlements and the failure to implement approved pension increases and wage awards.
The retirees, drawn from the Nigeria Union of Pensioners and the Contributory Pension Scheme, had gathered at the state government premises to demand action on issues affecting their welfare.
The protesters were seeking the payment of outstanding pension arrears as well as other benefits they said had remained unpaid by the Lagos State Government.
The demonstration was aimed at drawing the attention of the state authorities to the financial difficulties faced by retirees while calling for the immediate settlement of their pending entitlements.
The situation later became tense when police officers reportedly used tear gas to disperse the pensioners at the Lagos House.
The action caused some of the retirees to leave the area as the protest was disrupted.
The pensioners were said to have expressed anger over the treatment they received while trying to present their demands to the government.
The retirees said their complaints were focused mainly on pension adjustments, wage awards, unpaid arrears and other benefits that had been approved or were due to them.
Their protest also came after pensioners had set August 31 as a deadline for the authorities to address the outstanding pension enhancement and wage award payments.
