The Federal Government has announced that it will begin addressing the long-standing pension backlog for retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) next week. This development was revealed by Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, during a rally held by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS) at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday.
The rally highlighted the grievances of retirees over unpaid pension contributions. In his address, Edun reassured pensioners that the government would begin payments using available funds from the current budget, as approved by the National Assembly. “We will start next week to pay everything that we can under the current budget,” he stated.
Acknowledging the backlog that has affected retirees, Edun assured the pensioners that their welfare remains a priority. To tackle the issue effectively, he outlined a collaborative effort involving key stakeholders, including the Office of the Head of Service and the Minister of Budget, to address the CPS 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,” Edun explained. He emphasized the government’s commitment to paying the backlog within the year, starting next week.
In addition, Edun proposed raising funds through the capital market to clear the backlog once and for all. “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.
The minister expressed regret over the pensioners’ need to hold a rally to highlight their situation, stressing the government’s commitment to addressing 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,” he added.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of NUPCPS, Mr. Sylva Nwaiwu, raised additional concerns, including the exclusion of pensioners from adjustments to the National Minimum Wage and the lack of payments for accrued rights for over 20 months. He urged the government to address these issues to prevent further hardship for retirees urgently.
Pensioner Mrs. Christiana Ubah, who retired in 2015, voiced frustration over the non-payment of pensions despite reports of increased pension fund assets. She also emphasized the constitutional requirement for salary and pension increases every five years and called for these adjustments to be reflected in pension payments. “We do not have anything to live on now, every year they will tell us in the media that pension fund assets have increased, so why are pensioners not paid?” Ubah lamented. “We have a constitution in the country that every five years salaries will increase and pensions will increase too. We want this reflected.”
The government’s commitment to resolving these pension issues is seen as a crucial step in alleviating the financial burden on retired workers across the country.
