Pensioners of Chevron Nigeria Limited staged a protest on Tuesday to express their dissatisfaction with the international oil company over its neglect of their welfare, demanding an urgent review of the pension package, which they claimed had remained unchanged for decades.
Defying Tuesday’s sweltering heat, the protesters, carrying placards with various inscriptions, marched to the company’s headquarters in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
Speaking during the protest, the President of PenCon, Comrade Omare Jonathan, urged Chevron to follow the example of other international oil companies in the country that prioritise the well-being of their former employees.
“Our welfare is on the line. This is what we have worked hard for over the years. Other IOCs paid lump sums last year and this year, but for nearly 30 years, we have received no lump sum payments.
“We are simply asking to be rewarded for the years we dedicated to this company. We have paid our dues in full and deserve recognition. Many of us devoted 30 to 35 years of our lives —our entire youth— to Chevron. We should not be treated like discarded rags,” Jonathan lamented.
The PenCon president also accused Chevron of transferring retirees’ pension funds to a third-party administrator without their knowledge, despite initially convincing them to entrust their funds to the company’s in-house pension management system.
He recounted, “In 2007, Chevron’s leadership held discussions with the workforce through our unions to determine whether our pensions should be managed by an external party or through the in-house system known as Chevron Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator. They persuaded us to entrust our funds to the in-house system, and we agreed.
“Seventeen years later, they transferred the funds to a third party without consulting the rightful owners. If their intentions for the retirees were genuine, they would have engaged us and explained the reasons for moving our funds to an external party.”
The vice president of PenCon, John Nwanosike, expressed concern over the challenging economic conditions faced by its members.
He criticised the fact that retirees had been receiving the same payments for the past 20 years, a practice he claimed violated Nigeria’s constitution, which mandates periodic reviews of such payments.
He said, “We have been asking the managing director to meet with us since 2022. We are in a situation where someone retired when a dollar was worth N99, yet we are still receiving the same amount, despite the dollar now exceeding N1500. Our salaries have been severely devalued.
“After trading with our pension fund for over 16 years, they are trying to check out of the country. We got nothing from all the investments they made with our money. Chevron is violating Nigerian law. Before they leave the country, let them pay us our dues.”
The retirees’ lawyer, Evans Ufeli, stated that the protest aimed to ensure that law-abiding and responsible Nigerians were not unfairly treated.
Ufeli noted, “We have been advocating for this for a long time. This is not a vengeful protest; it is a movement aimed at enforcing the rights of Nigerian citizens.
“We have been advocating for this for a long time. This is not a vengeful protest; it is a movement aimed at enforcing the rights of Nigerian citizens.”
A statement provided to our correspondent after the protest outlined the retirees’ demands, which included the immediate recognition of the association “and start implementation of dues deduction at source; immediately engage PenCoN to discuss and align on terms and conditions of CNCPFA outsourcing.
“Restore retirees’ January five per cent cost of living adjustment and restore 75 per cent of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria’s annually negotiated per cent increase in monthly basic salary.”
Attempts by our correspondent to speak with the media representative of CNL were unsuccessful, as security officers at the entrance informed him that an appointment was needed to gain entry into the company.
