The Association of Nigerian Railway Senior Citizens (ANRSC) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the non-implementation of the Federal Government’s housing monetisation policy for railway quarters.
The association’s Chairman, Mr Olusegun Esan, made the appeal at a news conference on Saturday in Lagos.
Esan said that retired railway workers and their families had been denied the opportunity to own the official quarters they occupied, in spite of the introduction of the policy in 2004/2005.
He explained that the policy was designed to reduce government expenditure on the maintenance of official residences, while providing serving and retired public officers the opportunity to purchase their occupied quarters at affordable rates.
Esan said that prolonged legal dispute had subjected many retirees and their families to hardship, and some affected pensioners had died while others remained homeless.
According to him, the policy has been fully implemented in ministries, departments and agencies of government such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Port Authority and even in the judiciary.
“We now wonder why the Nigerian Railway Corporation is different. The past management of NRC commenced implementation of part of the monetization process, they monetised vehicles, furniture but left the important aspect – the quarter where retirees live.
“The NRC was formerly one of Africa’s largest employers of labour, with more than 50,000 workers whose families are spread across different parts of the country.
“We appeal to Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and the NRC management to facilitate the implementation of the monetisation policy and the 2016 court judgment.
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“We also call for compensation and resettlement allowances for affected retirees and widows, and above all, the government should address their grievances without further delay,” he said.
Esan said that the association had made several efforts to resolve the dispute, including writing to NRC management, the Minister of Transportation, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant authorities.
He said that the association had also submitted documents detailing the history of the dispute, the affected residential quarters across railway districts and properties allegedly occupied by third parties.
According to him, the present NRC management has engaged the association on possible settlement.
He, however, said that members rejected the proposed conditions because they allegedly contradicted the Federal Government’s monetisation policy and the court judgment.
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