Ogun Retirees Protest, Demand Suspension Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Concerned retirees of Ogun State Civil Service, on Monday, urged the State Government to suspend the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

Speaking on behalf of the retirees during a peaceful protest at the Governor’s Office in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, a retired public servant, Mr. Daniel Akanji, described the scheme as a failed expectation.

Akanji accused the state government of displaying a lack of commitment to the laws guiding the CPS.

He explained that those protesting were retirees who left service between July and now.

“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 employer’s 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 lamented that retirees had been reduced to beggars, stressing that their hardship was becoming unbearable. He, therefore, appealed to the state government to suspend the policy for at least for five years or scrap it entirely.

“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 added.

In her response, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of State Pensions, Mrs. Arinola Adetayo, said all outstanding issues relating to the CPS had already been resolved.

Adetayo added that the state government’s palliatives were currently cushioning the retirees’ burdens.

“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.

LEADERSHIP reports that the protesters carried placards with different messages, including “CPS is killing, give us DBS” and “No to CPS, we deserve better treatment after 35 years.”