The ₦758bn for pension liabilities

Pensioners in the country penultimate Tuesday received the cheering news of the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of memos from the Ministry of Finance seeking ₦758 billion to clear pension liabilities and boost Nigeria’s economic competitiveness through technology-based solutions.

Although long in coming as many pensioners have waited for several months with some of them resorting to protest in order to get paid, the federal government’s gesture will go a long way in enabling the senior citizens cope with the escalating cost of living in the country.

Making the disclosure after the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the government has authorised the Debt Management Office (DMO) to raise a ₦758 billion federal government bond.

He said the funds would be used to settle outstanding payments owed retirees who were part of the pension system prior to the 2004 switch to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The minister said the liabilities accrued over time due to periodic wage adjustments, with top-up payments required for retirees under the old system. “This approval will provide relief to thousands of pensioners, ensuring they receive payments as and when due”.

The FEC approval of N758 billion to clear pension liabilities is coming on the heels of the recent warning by the immediate-past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor (retd.), that the ugly sights of veterans protesting non-payment of entitlements must not be allowed to fester as it could engender feelings of resentment among serving personnel.

Thus, the FEC approval of the pension funds underscores the fact that Tinubu is a president with a listening ear, which is one of the hallmarks of a good leader. The humanitarian gesture is also a demonstration of President Tinubu’s compassion and responsiveness to the plight of pensioners in particular and Nigerians as a whole.

Irabor’s warning was prompted by the restiveness of ex-servicemen who barricaded the entrance of the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, January 9, 2025, protesting non-payment of their entitlements. The pensioners arrived at the ministry’s gate as early as 7:30 am with sleeping mats, chairs, canopies, and loudspeakers playing music, insisting that they would not leave until their demands were met.

They accused the federal government of not paying them a 20 percent to 28 percent salary increment from January to November 2024, among other benefits. The leader of the protesting retirees, Colonel Innocent Azubuike (retd), while addressing journalists after they locked up the entrance of the ministry, said non-payment of their entitlements had caused untold hardship for them.

Azubuike said the Defence Ministry had concluded its part and was ready for payment, noting that all necessary approvals had been given. He said that cash-backing of those approvals is what remains, reiterating that they would continue to remain on the protest ground until their demands are met by the government.

According to him, their demands include the owed palliative payments from October 2023 to November 2024 and the payment of an additional N32,000 to their pensions. Others are refunds of deductions made from the pensions of medically boarded soldiers and bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, etc.

The retired senior officer said they had waited for 11 months for their dues before resorting to protest. He stressed that despite assurances that their entitlements would be cleared in November, they were informed that the payments could not be made due to a lack of cash backing.

“We were told to exercise patience and assured that our long-unpaid entitlements would be settled in November. November is gone, and there is no indication of when this will happen because it’s a matter with the Federal Ministry of Finance and not the Ministry of Defence”, he lamented.

Dismayed by the sad development, Irabor said: “The ugly sights of veterans’ protest, though contrary to military discipline and ethos, owing to lack of payments of entitlements, must not be allowed to fester. This could also potentially engender feelings of resentment in active duty personnel, especially seeing the despicable treatment meted out to veterans. This shameful act should end forthwith with the payment of all accrued entitlements.”

The former CDS, who seized the momentous commemoration of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day to drive home his point, lamented that the plight of servicemen and women wounded or disabled leaves a heart-breaking tale in the minds of everyone. He added that this could indirectly demoralise serving personnel. It could even make veterans to go into depression for possible regrets of patriotic services rendered to the nation.

Blueprint commends the Tinubu administration for renewing the hope of pensioners in the ability and willingness of the government to address their plight and improve their welfare. By this singular act, the federal government has not only rekindled the confidence of pensioners in the genuine intentions of government but also instilled in them a sense of patriotism, inclusivity, and pride as Nigerians.

We urge the federal government to expedite the disbursement of the funds for the payment of the pension liabilities to the beneficiaries. It is not enough to give approval; actualising the payment to the concerned pensioners is paramount. The cases of some Nigerian pensioners receiving the miserable sum of N5,000 as monthly pension is not only inhuman but also smacks of injustice carried to a ridiculous extent.