Concerned retirees on Monday appealed to the Ogun Government to suspend the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) policy.
A retired public servant, Mr Daniel Akanji, speaking on behalf of the retirees during a protest at the government office in Abeokuta, said the policy was a failed expectation.
Akanji alleged that the state government had shown a nonchalant attitude toward the laws governing the implementation of the CPS.
He noted that the protesters were those who retired from July this year.
“We have worked for 35 years and retired with nothing to show for it.
“The policy is good, but right from inception, it has been faulty on different issues.
“7.5 per cent deduction is made from the employers’ salaries, and another 7.5 per cent from the government, but successive governments have been failing to fulfil their obligations.
“As of now, there have been almost 18 years of unremitted deductions.
“So, even those who have the best and highest amounts in their accounts are those who have barely N2 million.
“Are we to live with N2 million for the rest of our lives?” he asked.
Akanji said retirees had become beggars, noting that the suffering was becoming unbearable.
He appealed to the state government to postpone the policy for at least five years or cancel it outright.
“The past administrations shifted the years of implementation because of their weaknesses in remitting workers’ deductions and failure to pay the government’s quota,” he said.
Responding to the retirees, Mrs Arinola Adetayo, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of State Pensions, noted that all areas to be addressed in the CPS had been fixed.
Adetayo said that the retirees were already benefiting from the state government’s palliatives.
“The arrears of CPS deductions, plus return on investment, will be credited into the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) at any moment from now.
“We have gotten the approval for us to do that, and we are processing it.
“Retirees who may not likely get their remittances into the RSA accounts are those people who have not submitted their files, their documentation with the state bureau of pensions.
“After the expiration of this palliative that commences in July and will end in December, they will be getting their monthly pension from the appropriate account,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that placards with inscriptions such as “CPS is killing, give us DBS” and “No to CPS, we deserve better treatment after 35 years” were displayed.
(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
