The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, recently decried the poor participation of states in the National Pension Scheme. The labour leader, who spoke at a public lecture in Abuja, regretted the situation in which only ten states were participating in the contributory scheme, about ten years after its introduction as part of the pension reform in the country.
Wabba, who was represented at the occasion by the Deputy President of the NLC, Peters Adeyemi, said that the other 26 states were yet to complete the process of legislation and have full contributory schemes in place as at the last quarter of 2015. Fourteen states are said to have begun legal processes which is the first stage in the process of implementation of the scheme. However, many of those which had initially joined the scheme are no longer remitting their workers’ contributions. One fact that has become clear is that the future of workers whose employers have either not enrolled in the scheme, or have stopped remitting their contributions, is in great jeopardy.
Wabba has called for the prompt and full participation of all states and local governments in the pension scheme in the interest of their workers. We strongly support this call. The failure of many state governments to do this, even after the 2014 amendment to the Pension Reform Act of 2004, portends great danger for the future of their workers.
The Contributory Pension Scheme is designed to guarantee availability and prompt payment of pension entitlements to retiring workers. It was introduced in 2004 when the old pension scheme known as the Defined Benefits Scheme collapsed and was no longer able to pay retirees, after reportedly accumulating liabilities amounting N2.6 trillion. It is sad that the fate of state workers under the new pension scheme is at risk. The failure of some state governments to fully participate in this scheme and pay their workers’ contributions is a great disservice to them. It is a very serious issue that could leave their workers in penury during retirement. The non-participation is an abridgement of the rights of the workers that ought to be resisted by the leadership of the NLC.
Pensions are what workers everywhere, including those in the Civil Service, look up to for succour in their twilight years. In the public service, this is all that they get after either working for 35 years, or attaining the mandatory retirement age.
It is, therefore, tantamount to an unconscionable exploitation of the workforce for any state not to enroll its workers and remit their contributions to the appropriate quarters as due. It is also a serious offence that is provided for in the Pension Act of 2014 and it is a surprise that some states and other private sector workers are allowed to get away with the offence.
This should not be allowed. The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and the NLC have a responsibility to end this practice. All workers must also be at alert to ensure that their employers are remitting their contributions to the right quarters to ensure that they will not be left high and dry at retirement. Let all the provisions of the new pension law be enforced.
Laws are made to be enforced and the present situation in which employers obey the pension law in the breach should not be allowed.
The Federal Government should also not be lax in ensuring that this law is enforced. This is more so as Nigeria has no arrangement at all for the care of the elderly. The plight of the aged in Nigeria has, over the years, been an embarrassment to well meaning people. Pensioners have been known to die on long queues while awaiting their pensions. Many have died without collecting their due entitlements. The new pension scheme that was introduced to stop this sorry situation deserves to be enforced to correct this sad situation.
Above all, it is necessary for Nigeria to do all that is necessary to get the economy back on track. A situation in which states are not paying even basic salaries to their workers hardly leaves room for payment of pensions.
Let all levels of government in the country design strategies to beef up their internally generated revenues so that they can meet their obligations to their workers and pay their salaries and pension contributions.
