Bleak future for civil servants as states drag foot on pension scheme

Civil servants in Nigerian states face a tough future ahead as only 24 states out of 36 and the FCT have enacted the contributory pension schemes, while five have drafted a bill on the CPS.

This is according to the National Pension Commission’s report on the progress of CPS implementation in states as of March 2021, obtained from the regulator’s website.

The report also showed that In fact, 31 states of the federation have no insurance coverage in place for workers as of March 2021.

The Federal Capital Territory Lagos, Osun, Ondo, and Edo are the only states with Insurance cover

States that adopted CPS

Ripples Nigeria gathered from the breakdown of the CPS status that all states in the South-West and South-East zones have implemented the contributory pension schemes: Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Osun, Oyo, as well as Anambra, Edo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo

Read also: Kano govt to redeploy 5,000 civil servants to schools

But only three states have enacted it in the South-South region: Bayelsa, Delta and Edo, while Kaduna, Kebbi and Sokoto, are the only states in North-West to have adopted the CPS.

In the North-East, Gombe, Taraba, have enacted the law, while Adamawa has drafted a bill to replace its CPS law with Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme.

For the North-Central, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Niger have implemented the contributory pension schemes.

States with CPS bill presentation

Since 2016, Kwara has presented a bill on the CPS to the State House of Assembly, while that of Borno has been with the state’s lawmakers since 2012.

Plateau State also has a 2020 bill with the state legislature, and Yobe has instituted a committee on the Adoption of the CPS in February 2020 [although it currently operates the Defined Benefits Pension Scheme].

In Akwa Ibom, a bill on the CPS is undergoing legislative processes, Cross River is yet to enact it’s own bill which it had drafted since 2012

Key takeaways from the report

Most states planning to adopt the contributory pension schemes have had their CPS bill in the house between four to eight years.

Twenty four states have enacted the contributory pension scheme, with the exception of Adamawa, which aims to switch from CPS to Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme.

The six states in South-West have enacted the contributory pension scheme.

The six states in South-East have enacted the contributory pension scheme.

By David Ibemere and Fakoyejo Olalekan…

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