The Federal Government has announced plans to begin clearing the pension backlog for retired employees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) starting next week.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, disclosed this during a peaceful demonstration by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS) held at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday.

Edun stressed the government’s commitment to addressing these payments within the limits of the current budget.

“We will start next week to pay everything that we can under the current budget as approved by the National Assembly,” he stated.

Acknowledging the severe impact of the backlog on retirees, Edun assured that addressing their concerns is a government priority.

“I was not aware of the Nov. 11 deadline, otherwise, I would never have allowed a situation like this

“In spite of your age, and your situation in terms of cost of living, it costs money to come here. I would have avoided that as much as I could,” he stated.

Sylva Nwaiwu, National Chairman of NUPCPS, listed ongoing challenges faced by the union, including the exclusion of pensioners from adjustments to the National Minimum Wage.

He added that accrued rights have not been paid for over 20 months, calling on the government to urgently address these issues to alleviate retirees’ hardship.

Christiana Ubah, a retiree since 2015, expressed frustration over unpaid pensions despite reports of growing pension fund assets.

She said that the Nigerian constitution mandates salary and pension increases every five years, urging the government to honour these adjustments in pension payments. (Daily Sun)