The director general of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies(MINILS), Ilorin , Comrade Issa Aremu has hailed President Bola Tinubu for approving N758bn bond to settle long standing pension liabilities.
Aremu in an interview with LEADERSHIP described Tinubu’s gesture as “a timely welcome act of compassion, statesmanship and good governance in the country’s pension market.”
Aremu said while successive governments unacceptably accumulated pension arrears it was commendable that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu boldly cleared the slate of pension indebtedness.
“The N758 billion is the most impactful measure of the Renewed Hope Agenda in labour market after the 2024 National minimum wage Act. The historical decision approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which translated to the highest federal pension bond in history marked a watershed moment in Nigeria’s pension administration in Nigeria,” he said.
Aremu, therefore, urged state governments to emulate the federal government in settling the claims of pensioners in the states, noting that millions of retired workers suffered avoidable delayed and low pension incomes .
He said all efforts to fight systemic corruption will not yield the desired result until “Nigeria intentionally secures life after work for the working people.”
“Some of the anxiety for cutting corners, both for senior and junior workers, is caused by the fear of what happens after active work with poor unpaid pensions, one key instrument to therefore fight corruption will be an enhanced, expanded paid pension arrears as the President has commendably done for the Federal workforce,” he said.
Aremu commended PenCom’s leadership for promoting what he called activist corporate governance by engaging relevant authorities to resolve pension liabilities in ways that have restored the dignity of public retirees and reinforced trust in the 30-year-old contributory pension scheme.
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