By Correspondent in Abuja.
Photo credit:,The Eagle online.
The Federal Government is set to begin clearing the backlog of pension payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) starting next week, according to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun.
Edun made the announcement during a peaceful rally by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS) at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday. The pensioners had gathered to protest the long-standing delays in receiving their entitlements.
“We will start next week to pay everything that we can under the current budget as approved by the National Assembly,” Edun assured the rally participants. “What has happened is that there is a backlog in terms of contributions, but we have a solution.
,”he assured the pensioners.
The Finance Minister explained that a committee, chaired by the Head of Service and involving the Minister of Budget and himself, has developed a plan to address the pension backlog.
“We are committed to paying it. It has to be paid this year, and we are committed to doing that starting from next week,” he added.
Edun further emphasized that the solution would involve raising funds through the capital market, which would allow for the clearing of the backlog once and for all, adding that viable proposal is set to be presented to the President, aiming to resolve the issue permanently.
The minister also reiterated the government’s commitment to the welfare of pensioners, acknowledging the difficulties faced by the elderly retirees.
“I am not happy that you have had to take this step, and I assure you that anytime you or your leaders seek an audience with me, I will be available,” Edun said.
He also expressed regret for the pensioners’ plight, particularly the burden of rising living costs.
“I wasn’t aware of the Nov. 11 deadline, otherwise, I would have done everything to avoid a situation like this.”
Earlier, the National Chairman of NUPCPS, Mr. Sylva Nwaiwu, voiced the union’s concerns, lamenting that pensioners under the CPS had not benefited from any increases under the National Minimum Wage Act.
He also criticized the Federal Government for failing to release accrued pension rights for over 20 months, since March 2023.
“Our senior citizens are suffering, “Some of our members are bedridden, and others have died in the struggle,”Nwaiwu told the minister.
Nwaiwu also lamented lack of acknowledgment of several letters sent to the Finance Ministry, which he said led to the peaceful protest.
He, however ,expressed gratitude to the President for raising the minimum wage but emphasized that pensioners’ concerns must be addressed as well.
Pensioners, such as Mrs. Christiana Ubah, a retired civil servant, shared their personal struggles.
Ubah, who retired in 2015, said she could no longer afford basic necessities and had not received her pension for months.
“I haven’t been paid for six months,” .I can’t feed myself, and many of us are in the same situation,”she said, visibly distressed.
Ubah also raised concerns about the discrepancy between reported increases in pension fund assets and the lack of corresponding payments to pensioners.
“We have a constitution that mandates salary and pension increases every five years, and we want this reflected,” she said.
In the rally, pensioners bemoaned the ongoing hardship facing them and called on the federal government for prompt action to address the backlog and improve their financial security.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
