Retirees of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have threatened to stage a nationwide protest over more than 16 years of unpaid pension benefits.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the pensioners, under the auspices of the Nigerian Ports Authority Pensioners Welfare Association, stated that if their requests are not met, the demonstration will begin seven days after publication.
The association, led by its president, Charles Ayo Binitie, said the protest may involve the closure of seaports around the country.
Binitie said the protest was sparked by NPA management’s inability to execute the constitutionally mandated five-year pension rise, which he said had not been applied since 2008.
He said that many pensioners are living in poverty and unable to afford healthcare.
N100,000, while “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% of them earn between N50,000, to as low as N30,000 monthly,” he said.
“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 Section173, Sub Sect. 3.
“The above law states that all pensioners are entitled to pay rise every five years and whenever there is an increase for the in service, however the management just adds whatever amount it likes, which mostly hovers between 3 – 11.5 percent.”
According to Binitie, despite the pensioners union’s efforts, NPA management has failed to execute the wage increase policy.
He stated that the association had written to the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC) and the presidency via the secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), but no action had been taken.
Binitie denied suggestions that the association is factionalized, pointing out that previous disputes had been settled by judicial decisions.
“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.
“In one of the judgements of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, the judge instructed the Board of Trustees to hold an AGM of all the pensioners and, thereafter, conduct an election, an action which consequently led to my emergence as the body’s incumbent president.”
Binitie stated that a five-year legal battle over suspected impersonation ended in his favor in September 2025, when an Apapa magistrate court confirmed him as the association’s legitimate president.
He said that the association now speaks with one voice, and that pensioners’ plight has grown terrible.
The association’s president urged the presidency and relevant authorities to compel NPA to pay unpaid benefits, including increments linked to the 2024 minimum wage.
