Hope has risen among pensioners in Enugu State following the approval of a new minimum pension of N32,000 for local government retirees by the state government, with payments expected to begin once adminisatrative processes are completed.

The government has also approved the enrolment of all local government pensioners into the state’s free health insurance scheme, which is scheduled to be launched on August 20, 2026, marking another major welfare intervention for retirees.

The Executive Secretary of the Enugu State Local Government Staff Pensions Board, Dr. Eric Oluedo, disclosed the development while appealing to pensioners to remain patient, explaining that the delay in implementing the new pension was purely administrative.

According to him, Governor Peter Mbah has already approved the new minimum pension, while the processes required for its implementation are being concluded.

Oluedo also revealed that the governor had approved the enrolment of all pensionersa into the Free Health Insurance Scheme of the Enugu State Agency for Universal Health Coverage.

He saiaad the scheme would be launched on August 20, 2026, to enable pensioners to enjoy free access to quality healthcare under the Enugu State Universal Health Coverage Scheme (ESUHCS).

Oluedo urged pensioners who are yet to submit their current data for the programme to do so immediately through their respective Local Government Staff Pensions Desk Officers.

Describing Governor Mbah as a compassionate and transformative leader, Oluedo said the administration had fundamentally improved pension administration by ensuring prompt payment of monthly pensions since July 2024.

He noted that the establishment of pension desk officers across the state’s 17 local government areas had made it easier for retirees to access services without travelling to Enugu.

According to him, “Before this administration, pensioners did not receive their pensions regularly. Today, pensions are paid as and when due, even before the regular staff receive their salaries,,

He further expressed confidence that the governor would soon commence payment of outstanding gratuities, pension arrears and the approved N32,000 minimum pension.

According to him, the administration is determined to clear the liabilities rather than leave them for future governments.

The latest development comes only days after the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Enugu State Council, appealed to Governor Mbah to implement the pension review linked to the new national minimum wage, saying it would raise the minimum pension to N32,000 and cushion the effects of the rising cost of living.

The union lamented that some retirees still receive as little as N447 monthly and insisted that no pensioner should earn below the approved minimum pension.

While commending the governor for restoring regular pension payments and clearing long-standing pension arrears, the State Chairman of the NUP, Ikechukwu Ekere, described the non-payment of gratuities as the greatest challenge confronting retirees.

According to Ekere, local government and primary school pensioners who were previously owed up to 27 months of pension arrears have received their pensions regularly since July 2024, while pensioners in state parastatals have enjoyed uninterrupted monthly payments since January 2025.

He, however, noted that gratuities remain outstanding, with state retirees yet to receive gratuity payments since 2010, while local government and primary school retirees have been awaiting their gratuities since 2006. (Vanguard)

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