Retired civil servants in Ogun State staged a protest on Monday, demanding the immediate suspension of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and the remittance of what they described as nearly 18 years of unremitted pension deductions.
The large group of protesters peacefully marched to the Governor’s Office at Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta, the state capital, displaying various placards to express their discontent with the CPS. They accused successive administrations of violating the laws guiding the scheme and neglecting workers who dedicated decades of service to the state.
The protesters argued that the scheme, introduced in 2008 with a mandatory 7.5 per cent deduction from both employees and the government, has failed due to the latter’s non-remittance. Although deductions were consistently made from workers’ salaries, they alleged that the state failed to remit both the workers’ contributions and its own counterpart funding into their Retirement Savings Accounts, leaving many retirees with less than N3 million after over 30 years of service.
Expressing further grievances, the protesters highlighted that their gratuities under the old Defined Benefit Scheme were also not paid into their accounts as required by law, accusing past administrations of shifting implementation timelines and ignoring statutory obligations.
They pointed out that the current administration under Governor Dapo Abiodun had not remitted CPS deductions since taking office, insisting that the scheme should not continue while arrears from 2008 to the present remain unsettled.
The spokesperson for the protesters, Daniel Akanji, described the scheme as a “killer policy,” stating that retirees have been pushed into hardship and emotional distress. He noted that many retirees are unable to afford proper healthcare or fund their children’s education. Akanji added that some retirees have died prematurely due to a lack of financial support and appealed to Governor Abiodun to suspend the scheme for at least five years or cancel it entirely until all outstanding deductions and gratuities are cleared.
He also alleged that labour unions, including the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Joint Negotiation Committee (JNC), have failed to defend workers’ interests by remaining silent and signing agreements with the government without adequate consultation.
Akanji questioned why individuals exempt from the CPS or currently enjoying benefits under the Defined Benefit Scheme were appointed to committees overseeing the policy’s implementation.
In response, the Permanent Secretary of the Bureau of State Pensions, Arinola Adetayo, urged the retirees to remain calm, assuring them that the government had approved the process for remitting arrears and crediting their Retirement Savings Accounts. She stated that payments would be made once affected retirees completed their documentation with the bureau, adding that those who had not submitted their files might experience delays.
Mrs Adetayo also explained that after the current palliative payments, monthly pensions would begin to reflect from their Retirement Savings Accounts. She assured that additional pension benefits would be provided and urged retirees to complete all required paperwork to ensure the smooth processing of their outstanding entitlements.
Despite these assurances, the retirees maintained their call for the suspension of the CPS, insisting that the scheme, in its current form, does not safeguard their welfare or reflect the years they dedicated to public service.
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