Nigerian pensioners are understandably agitated after dedicating the prime years of their lives to public service only to face uncertainty and neglect.
Having endured numerous challenges throughout their careers, they look forward to a peaceful retirement.
Yet, over the decades, pensioners have faced harrowing difficulties in receiving their rightful entitlements. This has often driven them to public protests, creating heart-rending scenes that evoke widespread sympathy.
It is a common sight to see frail pensioners, many bearing physical and health tolls from years of toil, taking to the streets, demanding their pensions.
The typical official response has been promises of investigations. Military pensioners have at various times camped out in the Federal Capital Territory, hoping to draw urgent attention to their plight. This should not happen.
This persistent crisis partly stems from the weaknesses of the Defined Benefit Scheme. The scheme was prone to corruption and manipulation, which triggered delays or outright refusal to pay pensions.
To address these structural issues, the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme through the Pension Reform Act of 2004, aiming to modernise Nigeria’s pension system.
Under the CPS, both employers and employees contribute monthly to a worker’s Retirement Savings Account, 10 per cent from the employer and 8.0 per cent from the employee, within seven working days of salary payment.
On retirement or upon reaching 50 years of age, workers can access these funds. Those who lose their jobs before 50 can also withdraw if they remain unemployed for four months. Pensioners can make up to three partial withdrawals, up to 25 per cent of their own contributions, excluding the employer’s share and returns, for specific needs.
Despite this model’s intent to offer stability, pensioners in the military and National Assembly have exited the CPS, and the Nigeria Police Force is reportedly close to doing the same. This shift is largely because the police pension scheme would require a massive annual sum, estimated at least N3.5 trillion, to cover about 400,000 personnel.
In August 2025, pressure from pensioners heightened when the Coalition of Federal Pensioners threatened a ‘naked’ protest over delayed pension increments and palliative payments.
Ismaila Ogunbote, the group’s National Chairman and chairman of NIPOST pensioners, voiced deep dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to implement President Bola Tinubu’s directive on pension awards.
Ogunbote gave the Federal Government a deadline until September 2025 to clear arrears, increments, and palliatives, warning of a nationwide protest on October 6 if ignored.
He recalled that Tinubu had, in October 2023, approved N35,000 for workers and N25,000 for pensioners as palliative relief. While workers received their payments within a month, pensioners continued to wait with no payment made to date.
Earlier in September 2024, Tinubu announced a new monthly pension increase of N32,000 for retirees under the DBS as part of implementing the new national minimum wage of N70,000.
A circular from the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission Chairman, Ekpo Nta, outlined that this increment would cover pensioners on several federal salary structures, including the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure and the Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure, while agencies outside these structures must liaise with the NSIWC to determine appropriate pension increases.
Meanwhile, Olugbenga Ajayi, Head of Corporate Communications at the Pensions Transitional Arrangement Directorate, acknowledged that pensioners had received part of the palliative relief but insisted that arrears would be cleared once the government allocates more funds.
Resolving pensioners’ grievances requires a multi-pronged approach: proactive dialogue with pensioners’ representatives, prompt and fair payments, systemic reforms to ensure consistent remittance of contributions, and genuine inclusion of pensioners in increments and welfare adjustments.
The government must establish clear communication channels and regularly engage pensioners to prevent further frustrations.
At the state level, some governments have failed to implement pension schemes faithfully, neglecting workers’ entitlements.
The Nigeria Labour Congress should exert pressure on these defaulting states to ensure timely and faithful pension payments to workers to preserve their dignity and send the right signals to those still in service.
