The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Enugu State Council, has appealed to Governor Peter Mbah to urgently implement the pension review tied to the new National Minimum Wage.

The union lamented that some retirees in the state are still receiving as little as N447 per month despite the state’s record-breaking internally generated revenue.

Enugu State posted one of its strongest revenue performances in recent years, generating N406.77bn in Internally Generated Revenue in 2025, representing 80 per cent of its N509.9bn target and a 125 per cent increase over the N180.50bn generated in 2024.

The state also projected an ambitious N870bn IGR target for 2026, after generating N43.96bn in the first quarter of the year, with Enugu Air emerging as the single highest revenue contributor with N11.59bn.

Against the backdrop of the improved revenue profile, the pensioners said implementing the proposed N32,000 minimum pension would ensure that no retiree earned below that amount and would provide much-needed relief to thousands of elderly citizens battling soaring inflation and the rising cost of living.

The union made the appeal after concluding its local government branch elections in Enugu South Local Government Area on Monday.

 “We are pleading with the State Government to implement the Minimum Pension review as the Federal Government has done, so that every pensioner will receive an additional ₦32,000,” the union said.

 Speaking during the event, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners in Enugu State, Ikechukwu Ekere, said pension administration had improved significantly under the current administration, particularly for retired primary school teachers and local government workers.

 According to him, before Mbah assumed office, many local government and primary school pensioners were owed as much as 27 months of pension arrears, while gratuities had remained unpaid for years.

 “When we cried to the governor about our pathetic situation, he listened to us. From July 2024 till date, primary school and local government pensioners have been receiving their pensions as and when due,” Ekere said.

 while arrears owed to retired state civil servants before the current administration had been cleared.

Despite the improvements, Ekere described the non-payment of gratuities as the greatest challenge confronting retirees in the state.

  him, state pensioners have not received gratuities since 2010, while retired local government workers and primary school teachers have remained unpaid since 2006.

 He urged the government to address the backlog, warning that many retirees had died without receiving their terminal benefits.

 Also speaking, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Local Government Staff Pensions Board branch, Kenneth Emeka Ugwueze, said the union had successfully concluded branch elections across the state’s 17 local government areas.

 He noted that reforms introduced by the Mbah administration had ended years of delays in pension payments.

 “Since the verification carried out under Governor Peter Mbah, no eligible local government pensioner has been denied pension,” Ugwueze said.

He disclosed that during a meeting with organised labour, the governor approved and promised to implement the payment of N32,000 minimum pension for retirees across the state.

 Ugwueze expressed optimism that the promise, alongside the payment of outstanding gratuities and continued regular pension payments, would soon be fulfilled to alleviate the suffering of retirees.

 While acknowledging the state government’s efforts to restore prompt payment of pensions, the union maintained that the implementation of the reviewed minimum pension and the settlement of long-overdue gratuities had become imperative, especially as Enugu’s revenue profile has expanded dramatically.