From Atiku Sarki, Abuja.
In order to forestall a nation wide protest by members of Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme (NUPCPS), the union has called on president Ahmed Tinubu without further delay to take executive action and ensure the release of funds for the payments of outstanding accrued rights and pension increment to retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
According to the union, the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), is responsible for all the sabotage against the Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria. Observing that all the past Government regime especially during the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had made frantic efforts to correct the anomalies in the CPS, but the Office of Accountant General of Federation had always sabotaged their efforts.
The union noted that the present Government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also has a good intentions and initiatives to off-set outstanding accrued rights and pension increments in the CPS sector by inaugurating a high powered committee of critical stakeholders in the Nigerian pension industry to determine all outstanding government liabilities in the CPS sector and to recommend ways and means to off-set the liabilities.
Briefing news men in Abuja on Wednesday at the peaceful rally organized by members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS), the National Chairman, Nigerian Union of Pensioners Workers, Comrade Sylva Nwajwu said they can no longer endure it, saying that since the appointment of the present Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein in the month of May last year, the gross marginalization and neglect of Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) retirees in Nigeria is becoming worse.
He said, the present leadership of the Office of Accountant General of the Federation has not only inflicted the highest socio-economic injury on CPS retirees, but it has also demonstrated bias and lack of empathy against them.
Saying that members of the Union can no longer tolerate the high insensitivity of the Federal Government through the Office of Accountant General of the Federation in releasing funds for the payments of the accrued rights portion of retirees pension benefits as well as the payments of pension increments to Pensioners of this sector.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria is much aware that retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme have constitutional rights to accrued pension rights and payments of increments, in line with the provisions of sections 173(3) of the 1999 construction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and 15(4) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 (as amended).
The question now is, if not for act of sabotage, why is the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation continued to act arbitrary and contrary to the above constitutional provisions.
“It should also be noted that since the first set of retirees under the CPS began to emerge in 2007, Federal public service Pensioners under the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) have benefitted from about four different pension increases, while CPS retirees have been unjustly excluded.
These increases are as follows:
i. A 15% increase in 2007;
ii. A 33% increase in 2010;
iii. A consequential adjustment in 2019 following the increase in the national minimum wage;
iv. 20% to 28% increase in 2024, as well as the approved N32,000 per month pension increase arising from the current minimum wage of N700,000 to workers.
“ Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the above catalog of pension increases paid to public service retirees by the OAGF, were obviously implemented with bias and at the detriment of CPS retirees for no just cause. Suffice it that this press conference/peaceful rally wouldn’t have been necessary, if not for the negligence of CPS retirees by the OAGF.
“The leadership of NUPCPS, is therefore using this medium to announce to the whole world, that many CPS retirees who had used their youthful years in contributing to our nation building are today bedridden and many dying daily of preventable sicknesses and old age poverty, as a result of the neglect of their welfare by the federal government of Nigeria through the Office of Accountant General of the Federation.
“This press conference/peaceful rally is, therefore being used as a medium to appeal to the present Federal Government under his Excellence, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR not to let the good intentions of this administration as it affects all Nigerian workers and pensioners be further sabotaged by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).
“We also call on his Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to kindly take Executive action that will ensure immediate release of funds for the payments of outstanding accrued rights and pension increments to retirees under the CPS in few days from now, in order to forestall a nation wide protest by this category of famished and dehumanized Nigerian Pensioners.
“In conclusion, we call on the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and other relevant authorities to please stop the sabotage of the Contributory Pension Scheme in our country, and to bear in mind that retirement is the future of every worker,” he stated.
