By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja
A Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) retiree, Alhaji Mohammed Onipe Aliyu, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to initiate a holistic review of Nigeria’s pension policy, warning that the current CPS framework has inflicted deep and enduring hardship on thousands of retired public servants.
Aliyu, the Managing Director of O&M Management Associate Limited, Lokoja, made the appeal in a comprehensive memo to the President dated January 19, 2026, via a memo titled,”Revisiting the CPS: An Appeal for Equity, Dignity and Fairness for Nigerian Retirees.”
He made to The Reporters in Lokoja on Wednesday and routed through the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) among others.
In the memo, the former public servant, who retired after 35 years of meritorious service, commended President Tinubu for recent steps taken to address some of the challenges facing pensioners
This he said include efforts to redress anomalies under the CPS and the inclusion of retirees in the ₦32,000 monthly special wage award.
He described the interventions as a reflection of the President’s “uncommon sympathy and concern for retirees,” adding that they had rekindled hope among thousands of pensioners across the country.
Aliyu, however, noted that many officials currently managing pension affairs may not be fully conversant with the circumstances that led to the introduction of the CPS.
He explained that before the CPS, Nigeria operated the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), under which retirees earned both gratuity and pension based on years of service and final salary.
According to him, the DBS became unsustainable due to rising pension liabilities, which ran into trillions of naira, prompting the Federal Government to introduce the CPS as a means of ensuring steady and uninterrupted payment of retirement benefits.
Drawing from his participation in a 2002 pension reform workshop organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in collaboration with Crown Agents of London,
Aliyu said the original recommendation was for a contributory system jointly funded by government and workers, while retirement benefits would still be paid in line with the Defined Benefit Scheme.
He lamented that the final policy eventually adopted, following a review by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), altered the spirit of those recommendations by tying retirement benefits strictly to individual Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).
“This policy choice has had grave consequences for workers who were already far advanced in service when the CPS was introduced in 2004,” Aliyu stated, noting that such workers did not have enough remaining years to build meaningful retirement savings.
He added that the situation was worsened by the method used in calculating accrued rights, which considered only “earned gratuity and pension” prior to joining the CPS, rather than what such workers would have earned had they retired fully under the old scheme.
To illustrate the disparity, Aliyu cited the case of a Grade Level 17 officer who retired after 35 years of service.
He said that while such an officer would have earned substantial gratuity and pension under the DBS, CPS retirees now receive monthly pensions that are grossly inadequate, especially in the face of rising inflation and currency depreciation.
He observed that unlike pensions under the Defined Benefit Scheme, which rose with periodic salary reviews, programmed withdrawals under the CPS have remained largely stagnant, steadily eroding retirees’ purchasing power and dignity.
Aliyu also faulted Nigeria’s adoption of the Chilean pension model, describing it as selective and incomplete.
He noted that even in Chile, workers already in service at the time of pension reform were allowed to remain under the old defined benefits system, a safeguard Nigeria failed to adequately provide.
According to him, several intervention measures introduced by PenCom, including the recent payment of 100 per cent gratuity, have failed to address the fundamental injustice faced by CPS retirees.
“Many Nigerian retirees now believe the CPS is a system where workers bear most of the risk, while fund managers and institutions thrive,” he said,
Warning that a pension framework that cannot guarantee dignity in retirement undermines morale, erodes trust in government and discourages patriotism among serving officers.
Aliyu therefore urged President Tinubu to order a comprehensive review of the CPS, particularly as it affects workers who were already in service before its introduction.
He recommended the introduction of a hybrid or “grandfathering” arrangement that would allow affected retirees to be compensated under the Defined Benefit Scheme, as well as the harmonisation of CPS pensions with those of retirees who exited service under the old system.
Copies of the memo were also sent to the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for their information and necessary action. (ephemeralnews.com.ng)
