By Wole Mosadomi

Public workers in Niger State have written to the  state government to officially opt out of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, to protest government’s refusal to pay its corresponding contribution as required by law.

Gov. Aliyu

However, government has described the move to opt out as hasty and unwarranted since the scheme is backed up by law.

Speaking through the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Niger State chapter, the workers  said they were withdrawing from the scheme because the aim had been defeated and the scheme was  of no benefit to them any longer.

The state NLC asked the government to stop deducting from members’ salaries into the pension scheme with effect from last month (February) and that failure to comply might lead to industrial unrest in the state.

Speaking to Pension and You in Minna, Niger State, chairman of NLC, Yahaya Idris Ndako, said workers had no other option than to opt out because of failure of government to meet up with the agreement and law setting up the scheme.

Corresponding contribution

According to him, it had been discovered that it was only the civil servants that had been complying with the contribution of the 7.5 of their salaries to the scheme without any corresponding contribution from the government as demanded by law.

”Our investigations have shown that State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, and the Ministry of Local Government have not remitted their own side of the funds for more than two years. Many of the retired teachers are either dead without receiving their benefits while those who are still alive are roaming the streets with tattered clothes and slippers.

Labour has decided to pull out of the two schemes 7.5 and 2-3 contributory schemes completely and if government says no, a battle line will be drawn with government. The letter to this effect has already been forwarded to the state government through office of the Head of Service. Government has already violated the law by not remitting to the Pension Board, workers have been suffering in silence and we don’t want our workers to continue to die without collecting their entitlements.

Ndako who spoke with Pension and You after the State Executive Council, SEC, meeting on the matter, claimed the pension scheme had failed, saying “the law says if you retire before the age of 60, you will be given 25% because that time, one is still agile, but when you work for 35years and above 60years, you are supposed to be given 50% and the rest 50% will be spread over the months and even with that 50% spread you will be getting interest on it but they are not doing so and we have discovered that it is not a good scheme and we are opting out.”

On possibility of returning to the scheme if the law is amended, he said, “we don’t even want it again. Let it go. Even if the law is amended, we don’t want it again.”

Aggrieved civil servants and some retired civil servants faulted the scheme claiming it was a policy designed to surcharge civil servants.

They referred to other schemes including the National Housing Scheme, NHS, where many contributors, (civil servants) were allegedly defrauded of millions of naira, insisting that this contributory pension scheme was more or else a replica of the past.

”In fairness, these schemes- Housing, Pension among others are good if they are sincerely implemented but unfortunately, some people are using the scheme to defraud innocent civil servants thereby frustrating the project. Honestly, we and particularly myself as a civil servant are no longer keen on all these schemes especially this pension scheme. It is a fraud and some people are only there to cheat us the civil servants”, a civil servant, Malam Mohammed Kabiru declared.

Waiting for the opportunity

Another civil servant, Abubakar Alkali said, “I have been waiting for this opportunity to speak my mind on this issue. Left for me, I am not interested in the scheme from day one.

I will like a situation whereby our pension is paid like before when substantial part will be paid in bulk after retiring and the second part spread monthly until death. If I am paid my pension and I marry with it or buy a car with it, it is not anybody’s business because it is my sweat and I can spend or enjoy it anyhow I feel instead of some people who did not suffer with

me to be defrauding and enjoying my sweat. They should stop the scheme and any other contributory scheme immediately.”

Alhaji Isiaku Malam who retired two years ago simply said. “I did not bargain for what I am receiving as my pension today. My expectation like any of the most retired civil servants is that we should enjoy our sweat at the end of our labour by collecting our pension full and as at when due but the opposite is what we are experiencing now. I am tired with the scheme like any other retired worker and our plea is that it should be stopped and thank God, our leaders- NLC in the state has taken action on it.

Government’s

response

However, the state government responding through the Head of Service, Alhaji Abdulhameed Khadi Kuta, said in as much as an individual or group of people have powers to agitate for their rights or protest against any form of intimidation, the law binding any agreement needed to be strictly looked into before taking steps.

According to him, “opting out of a scheme backed up by law is not an easy thing to do. The constitution of the country is not just a compilation by me or you and so, one cannot say because you don’t like a part of the constitution, then you will kick against that aspect. The law has to be enforced.

The Head of Service observed that Labour is complaining that they are not receiving anything and that the civil servants who are the beneficiaries are not getting their current value of their benefits but even with this, to opt out at this stage is not even the issue, a lot of work need to be carried out further because as at now, there is no statistics to show how much exactly or who is actually owing who.”

The Head of Service said he had set up a committee to come out with an exact figure outstanding because the government had to be appropriately briefed to know the plight of those affected including serving civil servants, retired as well as the aspects of contributions.

Alhaji  Khadi  said the first committee earlier set up came out with some useful suggestions that led to Governor Mu,azu Babangida Aliyu to split the Pension Board into two because the work load was too much for one permanent secretary.

“If the civil servants are not getting what they are entitled to, then it is our responsibility to investigate what is happening. Already, Labour has served us with a letter drawing our attention to the anomalies with emphasis to the fact that government is not complying with  the provision of the law in respect of the pension and that based on this, they are opting out of the scheme and we are still investigating.

Proferring a solution

One vital issue raised which the government is investigating immediately is the claim by the Labour that N3billion is owed pension Board by SUBEB and the state Ministry of Local Government and this is a big challenge to us. In other words, what they are saying is that government has refused to pay to the appropriate quartres who are the civil servants.

This is a shock to me and even to government and so, we need to find out so that if it is true, we need to know the exact amount, from which month and period so that I will be able to go before the government with facts figures and then proffer a solution to it instead of threatening to opt out of the schemes,” he remarked.

The Head of Service said from his personal investigations, it was on record that even two weeks ago, the state remitted its own money adding that government was remitting.

He noted that the state had no problem on the agreement because it did not owe.

The problem according to him, could be from the local government while the little problem the state government could have was the variation in calculation which he said was not the fault of government but that of the system which was being looked into.

According to him, the argument of the NLC was whether the people that had retired so far were enjoying the scheme as contained in the law and secondly, they suspected that while deductions were being made by the civil servants, they were not sure whether government was also fulfilling its own side of the agreement and whether the money was even being remitted to the appropriate quarters.