By NANA MUSA

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS), has urged the Federal Government to release funds for the payment of accrued rights portion of retirees? pension benefits.

The National Chairman of NUPCPS, Mr Sylva Nwaiwu, at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday also urged the Federal Government to pay N32,000 pension increment to pensioners.

He said that Nigerian workers who retired from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) about 20 months ago (March, 2023 till date) were yet to be paid their retirement benefits.

According to him, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) is yet to do anything about it.

The national chairman also said that the OAGF had not released funds for payment of the accrued rights as appropriated by the National Assembly in the 2023 and 2024 budgets.

He said that retirees under CSP could no longer endure any neglect.

According to him, the senior citizens would have no other option than to turn premises of the Account-General of the Federation?s Office to their residence until the funds for the payment of their pension entitlements are released.

Nwaiwu urged OAGF to also explain if the funds appropriated by the Federal Government in the name of accrued rights and the payment of pension increments to retirees over the years had been expended.

?It is time for the Nigerian public to know where the funds being appropriated annually in our national Budgets for CPS retirees since 2019 till date are,? he said.

He said that the primary objective of the CPS, was for retired workers to receive their retirement benefits as at when due.

Nwaiwu alleged sabotage against the CPS, adding that all past government regimes, especially during the immediate past administration had made frantic efforts to correct the anomalies in the CPS, but the OAGF had not allowed the efforts to achieve success.

?The same is also true of the good intentions and initiatives to off-set outstanding accrued rights and pension increments in the CPS sector by the present administration under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu.

?Tinubu set up a high powered committee of critical stakeholders in the country pension industry to determine all outstanding government liabilities in the CPS sector and to recommend ways and means to off-set the liabilities.

?The above committee had since submitted its report and recommendations to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and a memo to that effect was written and signed by the Minister of Finance.

?But to our dismay, that memo is yet to be presented to the FEC. Not only that, since the committee?s report of which the OAGF was a member, there has not been any release of funds as already appropriated for by the National Assembly in the 2023 and 2024 for CPS retirees,? the national chairman said.

Nwaiwu said the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) had benefited from about four different pension increases, while CPS retirees yet to receive it.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that for the consequential adjustment in pension arising from the implementation of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024, pension increment of N32,000 per month on the pension retirees was approved.

Also, the Union had submitted a letter to this effect to the ministry of finance in September. (NAN)

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