PENSION CRISIS: EDO RETIREES DEMAND REPEAL OF CONTRIBUTORY SCHEME

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By: Fasasi Hammad

Hundreds of retirees from the Edo State Civil Service on Tuesday protested their continued inclusion in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), describing the system as unfair and retrogressive.

The retirees marched to the Edo State House of Assembly, where they called for a return to the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), which they said was the pension arrangement under which many of them were employed.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Andrew Asemota said many of them were employed when Edo was part of the old Bendel State and never agreed to be transferred to the CPS midway through their careers.

Asemota, a former protocol officer in the Office of the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly who retired at Grade Level 16, said he currently receives only N43,000 monthly as pension, while some retirees reportedly receive between N7,000 and N10,000.

He said the retirees were subjected to the CPS after Governor Godwin Obaseki assumed office, despite many of them having spent between 28 and 30 years in service before the scheme was introduced.

The protesters argued that applying the scheme to workers who had already spent decades in service amounted to retrospective application of the law.

Asemota appealed to the Speaker to intervene with Governor Monday Okpebholo and secure the repeal of the CPS for affected retirees, allowing them to return to the Defined Benefit Scheme.

He also cited cases where some retirees reportedly received as little as N1.5 million after decades of service, describing the situation as unacceptable.

Responding, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Yekini Idaiye, commended the retirees for conducting the protest peacefully.

He assured them that the Assembly would consider their petition and convey their grievances to Governor Okpebholo for appropriate action.