NICON Insurance, Nigeria-Re pensioners seek intervention on fending pension

The Association of pensioners of NICON Insurance Plc and Nigeria Re-Insurance has lamented non-payment of members’ pension benefits ten years after privatization of the two insurance firms.

NICON Insurance plc and the Nigeria-Re insurance Corporation were government institutions privatized respectively by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in 2005 and have been in the control of a private management.

However, pensioners of the two insurance companies had in a letter addressed to the Coordinating Minister of Economy / minister of finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala dated February 10th, 2015, a copy made available to Newsmen lamented they had yet to be paid their pension benefits ten after the sale of the firms and urge the Minister to use her good office to grant members audience.

They lamented Minister’s inability to grant the association member’s audience even after two letters of reminder were addressed to her.

The pensioners in letter addressed to CME and signed by the Chairman, Comrade Edwin Nwagwu, the Secretary Ngozi Akpala, Emmanuel Omadivi and Awa Mmaju respectively, pleaded with minister to grant members audience stating that “it is our hope and expectation that the Hon. Minister finds time to grant us audience to enable her feel our pulse and that of our colleagues, the terrible situations we all are passing through as a result of non-payment of our pensions benefits for the past ten years”.

Pensioners’ renewed push for payment of their ten years outstanding benefits came on the heels of approval by the National Council on Privatization (NCP) acting on the recommendation of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) last year directed finance ministry to source monies to pay the affected pensioners of the two insurance firms.