The Niger state Pension Board has lauded the state Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, for the consistent release of 20% monthly counterpart funding to the resumed Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) since it commenced four months ago, with the aim of creating new lease of life for retirees in the state.
The director-general of the Board, Alhaji Usman Tanimu Mohammed, stated this in an interview with Blueprint in Minna at the weekend.
He said, “As you all know, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello signed the law establishing the new Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as amended in 2017. The new law increased government contribution to 10.5% while workers’ contribution remained 7.5%.
“Again there is what we called a novel initiative which was accepted by government increasing the employer’s contribution by 2.5% making it 13% while a 5% redemption bond deduction was set aside to fund the payment of accrued rights for people that will retire under the CPS but were serving before the commencement of the scheme.
“In all the state government is contributing to the scheme 20% in the form of 10.5% employer’s contribution, 5% redemption fund, 2.5% addition on employer contribution and 2% addition on 5% redemption fund totally 20%, as against the 7.5% contribution by the employees”.
He said that at the inception of his management in 2016, it was discovered that the accrued rights of retirees in arrears of over N1.4bn has not been paid, adding that however, since he took over office, he has cleared all the arrears and over 1700 benefited from the exercise.
He said that the state government has been constant in remitting its contributions to the scheme and that the months of June, July, August and September have been paid, adding that the other percentages offered by government have increased the earnings of the employees instead of decreasing it.
While assuring that the exercise will soon commence in all the 25 local governments of the state, Mohammed said Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has given the political will towards the successful implementation of the scheme, promising that the mistakes of the past have been avoided.
