The Federal Civil Service Pensioners (FCSP) on Monday staged a peaceful protest at their Abuja branch office to demand the immediate intervention of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Muhammad Dingyadi, in a long-running dispute with their parent union, the National Union of Pensioners (NUP). The group said they were compelled to demonstrate because the conflict had persisted for months without government action, despite repeated appeals.
Speaking during the protest, the National Assistant Secretary of the FCSP, Mr. Itiona Shaku-Nor, said the pensioners wanted the minister to address what he described as an “unfair and unlawful” situation affecting their branch. He explained that the dispute began after the NUP allegedly dissolved the duly elected Abuja branch executive and replaced it with a caretaker committee without due process. The FCSP is demanding the reversal of that decision.
Addressing journalists, Mr. Shaku-Nor further accused the NUP of unlawfully deducting 55% of the branch’s statutory allocation from check-off dues. He recalled that the former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, had intervened in the matter last year, leading to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NUP and the FCSP on 2 October 2024.
“This MoU is yet to be implemented by the Office of the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations (TUSIR),” he said, adding that several letters sent to the Minister’s office since 2024 had received no response. “Our investigation revealed that all our letters to the Minister ended up in the Office of the Director of TUSIR,” he added.
Also speaking, the outgoing Chairman of the FCSP branch, Mr. Sunday Omezi, accused the NUP of establishing what he called a “kangaroo executive” to divide the branch. He alleged that the union violated Rule 12-A of its constitution by selecting only three officers instead of the required nine elected through proper voting.
“There was no election anywhere. They hand-picked people from states,” he said.
Mr. Omezi appealed to the Federal Government to intervene urgently, restore order and address what he described as “clear marginalisation” within the branch.
Several protesters carried placards with messages such as: “Hon. Minister of Labour, we need your urgent intervention now” and “Director, Trade Union Services, stop blocking our correspondence to the Minister.”
