Reps ask FG to settle pension arrears of retirees

THE House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Federal Government to intervene in the current crisis of unpaid pension arrears threatening the lives of Nigerians’ retired senior citizens.

The House resolution followed a motion moved by Hon. Toby Okechukwu and six others, entitled, “Urgent Need for Intervention in the Current Crises of Unpaid Pension Arrears Threatening the Lives of Nigeria’s Retired Senior Citizens.”

According to him, in annual budgetary appropriation exercises, no provision was made for accrued benefits of pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme and Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

He averred that, under the Contributory Pension Scheme, retirees who retired since 2015 have not been paid their pensions due to the failure of the Federal Government to contribute its statutory share of 5% to the Pension Redemption Fund in line with the Pension Reform Act 2014 amounting to a total of N285,946,669,881.00 only.

The lawmaker also expressed worries that pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) which include the Police, Pensions, the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service, Civil Service and other parastatals are yet to be paid their 33% accrued arrears amounting to about N174 billion.

He said that, “the delay in payment of pension arrears has resulted in dire situations where pensioners are wallowing in penury, sickness, hopelessness and regret for serving their fatherland diligently only to be abandoned by government upon retirement,” he noted.

The motion scaled through when the Speaker Hon. Yakubu Dogara put the motion to voice vote and subsequently referred it to House Committee on Pensions for further legislative inputs.