2026 UN Day of Older Persons: Senior citizens want monthly stipends, free transport

A group of elderly Nigerians, under the umbrella of Global Veterans has called on the Federal, state and local governments to make adequate budgetary provisions for the welfare of senior citizens, including monthly stipends and free transportation, beginning with the 2027 fiscal year.

The seniour citizens also advocated the establishment of special welfare centres across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas where elderly people can access essential drugs, medications, food items and other household necessities at subsidised rates.

They made the call at a programme organised by Global Veterans to commemorate the 2026 United Nations International Day of Older Persons, with the theme, “The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives.”

Speaking at the event, the Convener of Global Veterans, Mr Victor Oluwadamilare said growing old in Nigeria was increasingly becoming a difficult experience characterised by want, deprivation, bitterness and abandonment. He said the economic realities confronting the country had placed additional pressure on elderly citizens, many of whom were suffering silently because of the cultural tendency among African parents to conceal their difficulties

According to him, “one of the hardest things in Nigeria right now is not just being poor, it is growing old in difficult times.” He therefore appealed to all tiers of government to include comprehensive welfare programmes for senior citizens in their budgets from 2027.

He proposed that Nigerians aged 60 and above should be considered for monthly stipends and other forms of social support, while free or heavily subsidised public transportation should also be introduced to ease the burden of mobility on elderly citizens.

He further called for the establishment of dedicated centres in all 774 local government areas to provide affordable access to medicines, food and other basic necessities.

Prince Ade Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, said society must change the way it views older people, stressing that they should not be regarded merely as dependants.

Adekanmbi said elderly citizens should instead be recognised as partners in national development, given their wealth of experience and contributions to society. He urged government and other stakeholders to continually review systems affecting older citizens, particularly healthcare, pensions, social protection, housing, transportation, digital inclusion and access to essential services

He said healthcare deserved particular attention because longevity without access to affordable and quality medical care could turn longer life into a burden rather than a blessing. “After decades of service, our senior citizens deserve a retirement that allows them to live with dignity,” he said, stressing the need for a pension system that goes beyond mere survival.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Oyo State chapter, Pastor Ayo Oshuntade, questioned the kind of society Nigeria was building for its citizens to live longer. He said longevity should not simply mean adding more years to people’s lives, but ensuring that those years were lived with dignity, purpose and adequate support.

“What kind of society are we building for people to live longer life? Longevity doesn’t mean only to live long but to live more life with dignity and purpose to those years,” Oshuntade said.

Former Chairman of the Campaign for Democracy, Comrade Mashood Erubami, also attributed the difficulties faced by many Nigerians in old age to inadequate provision of essential public services.

Erubami argued that government’s failure to provide basic services had contributed to the inability of many citizens to live healthy and fulfilling lives into old age.

A lecturer at Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Dr Samson Owolabi, advised elderly people to maintain healthy relationships with people within their neighbourhoods and communities.

He encouraged senior citizens to develop friendships and social networks that could provide companionship and reduce isolation.

Owolabi also advised them to remain reasonably principled while avoiding rigid attitudes that could negatively affect their wellbeing. He urged the elderly to pay attention to their personal welfare, including eating and dressing well, and to prioritise their basic needs when spending their resources.

He also advised them to avoid becoming excessively entangled in what he described as “spiritual legover.”

The speakers collectively stressed the need for a coordinated national framework for ageing, arguing that government policies on healthcare, pensions, transportation, housing and social protection must recognise the growing population of older Nigerians. They maintained that supporting senior citizens should be treated as a social responsibility and a matter of dignity, rather than charity, particularly as economic pressures continue to affect vulnerable members of society.