THE Federal Government has announced plans to begin addressing the pension backlog for retired workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) starting next week(November 17)
The minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, gave this information during a rally organised by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS) at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday, November 12.
The demonstration drew attention to long-standing grievances among retirees over unpaid contributions and federal government’s faltering in the CPS by exempting some category of public servants from the scheme and wittingly returned the same old pension scheme it has earlier abolished.
The ICIR reports that the pensioners at the demonstration ground cited poor remittances, government’s neglect of CPS and its abrupt stoppage leading to delays in the release of accrued rights portion of retirement benefits to retired workers between 2015 and 2019 as issues seeking the government must address.
During his address, Edun emphasised the government’s determination to make payments with the funds available under the current budget.
“We will start next week to pay everything that we can under the current budget as approved by the National Assembly,” he stated.
He acknowledged the backlog in contributions, which has severely affected retirees, assuring pensioners that their needs are a priority.
Commenting of efforts to tackle the backlogs sustainably, Edun revealed a coordinated effort involving the Office of the Head of Service, the Minister of Budget, and other stakeholders to address the backlog.
“There has been a committee under the Office of the Head of Service which has met with the Minister of Budget and myself. We have a plan for dealing with the backlog under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
“We are committed to paying it. It has to be paid this year. We are committed to doing that starting from next week,” Edun explained.
He also suggested a potential financial strategy of going to the capital market and raising a means that clears the backlog.
“It’s going to be a question of going to the capital market and raising an instrument that allows that backlog to be cleared once and for all,” he said
He expressed regrets that pensioners had to stage a rally to bring attention to their plight.
He emphasised the government’s commitment to their well-being and pledged accessibility to address their concerns.
“I am not happy that you have had to take this step and I assure you that any time that you or your leaders seek an audience with me, I will be available in the office.
“I was not aware of the Nov. 11 deadline, otherwise, I would never have allowed a situation like this.
“In spite of your age, and your situation in terms of cost of living, it costs money to come here. I would have avoided that as much as I could,” he stated.
The national chairman of NUPCPS, Sylva Nwaiwu, highlighted the union’s ongoing challenges, including the exclusion of pensioners from adjustments to the National Minimum Wage.
He also stressed that accrued rights had not been released for over 20 months. He called on the government to address these gaps urgently to prevent further hardship for retirees.
The ICIR had also in a series of reports highlighted the plights of pensioners in various states across the federation, many of whom live and die in penury as a result of outstanding debts owed them by the sub-national and the federal government.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.