The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government has promised to settle the N88 billion budgeted for pension arrears in 2024.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun made the promise in Abuja yesterday when hundreds of retirees from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) stormed the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance, protesting prolonged delays in pension arrears payments.
The retirees, frustrated by the lack of action, blocked the ministry’s main entrance, insisting that the minister must speak with them.
Edun said from the N88 billion budgeted for pension arrears in 2024, N22 billion has already been paid, saying that the balance would be disbursed by year’s end.
He said payments would commence next week.
He attributed the pension backlog to issues within the older pension system and assured them that the federal government is committed to resolving the delay.
“There has been a committee under 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,” he stated.
For a long-term solution, Edun disclosed that the government is considering raising funds through the capital market to address the backlog fully. “We’re working on a viable solution using the financial market to take care of the huge backlog under the Contributory Pension Scheme,” he said.
Earlier, the National Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS), Sylva Nwaiwu expressed concerns on the lack of responses from the ministry, despite repeated letters.
He emphasized the union’s demand for a consequential pension adjustment following the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act, with a call for a N32,000 pension increment.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
