The group of Retirees in Ogun State has again cried out to Governor Dapo Abiodun to attend to their hardship relating to Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), lamenting that the unlawful transition of this scheme has brought profound financial hardship on them.
The group led by the Chairman, Oluwole Omopariola, made the 5th appeal at a press conference held at the Penpushing Media Conference Hall in Abeokuta, the State Capital
‘The purpose of this conference stems from our belief that the good people of Ogun State deserve to know the hardship the stated group of retirees who devoted many years of their active and productive lives to the service and development of Ogun State are facing’. Omopariola emphasised.
He explained that the major concern is the manner in which the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has been implemented for those of them who retired from 2nd July 2025 onwards.
‘The Ogun State Government announced the commencement of the full implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme ( CPS) on State Retirees of 2nd July 2025 in June 2025 under conditions that are inimical to the welfare of such category of citizens, particularly having contributed useful years to the progress and development of our dear State’, he stated.
‘At inception in 2008, the 7.5% deducted from our salaries and the 7.5% counterpart funding by the Ogun State Government were not remitted into our Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) as and when due. The 2% penalty for non-remittance within seven days was not paid by the Ogun State Government from 2008 to date’, ’Omopariola said.
‘Our Accrued Pension Rights (APR) that were supposed to have been paid into our RSAs for transiting from the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) to the Contributory Pension Scheme ( CPS) were not paid as of December 2007’, he added.
‘The 2014 Pension Reform Act mandated that 8% should be deducted from workers’ salaries and 10% counterpart funding be paid by the government into workers’ RSAs. The Ogun State Government did not comply. Instead, 7.5% was deducted from workers’ salaries while the Government also paid only 7.5%. This shows that the Government short-changed us by 2.5% that ought to have been paid into our Retirement Savings Accounts ( RSA)’
‘The Prince Dapo Abiodun -led administration and its predecessors owe seventeen and a half years (17 and half years) of unremitted deductions, which would have yielded substantial interest in our RSAs’.
‘Return on Investment (ROI) has not been paid since 2008. We have lost the interest that would have accrued on our monthly deductions had they been deposited into our RSAs with our Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs)’.
He pointed out that there is no gainsaying that the unlawful transition of this scheme has brought profound financial hardship on the group of retirees, stressing that members have not received their expected monthly pension payments since January 2026.
‘You can then imagine that for retirees who no longer earn salaries, the absence of monthly income is not a minor inconvenience. It affects our ability to buy food, obtain medication, pay house rent, support our families, and meet our basic needs of human existence. We therefore ask the Government of Ogun State: How are retirees expected to survive when their regular source of income have stopped?’, he said
‘We served this state faithfully for decades, we reported for work, accepted postings, served communities, obeyed government directives, and contributed our skills and knowledge to the development of Ogun State under thick and thin. We never expected to be treated this unkindly, with such disdain by any government or fellow human beings’.
‘We did not enter public service with the understanding that our retirement would become a period of uncertainty and hardship. Pension is not a favour. It is a retirement benefit arising from years of service’.
‘In this particular case, we have counterpart funding that was not properly remitted.How can the government say that payment of pension for retirees is increasing yearly? Does our government expect retirees to die immediately after retirement?
The group said it does not oppose to reforms that are lawful, however, declared that Ogun State Government should shift the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme(CPS) to a later date when all extant conditions would have been put in place for its smooth take-off.
‘Our immediate concern is survival. We need our monthly pension. We need our retirement benefits. We need clarity. We need justice. We need a system that will allow us to live the remainder of our lives with dignity.
‘Your Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun CON, we respectfully appeal to you as the Chief Executive Officer of our dear State. We recognise the challenges involved in administering a pension system and the financial responsibilities of government’.
‘But we ask Your Excellency to remember that behind every pension file is a human being. Behind every RSA number is a retired worker. Behind every unpaid pension is a family. We therefore appeal to Your Excellency to urgently intervene in our situation and ensure that affected retirees are not left without means of livelihood’.
The group requested the state government to return them to the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) and: immediately commence payment of the outstanding monthly pension entitlements of retirees affected by the transition from 2nd July 2025.
‘Pay all outstanding pension and retirement benefits due to affected retirees without further delay. Engage directly with representatives of the affected retirees, rather than allowing retirees to suffer in silence. Ensure that no retiree who faithfully served Ogun State is subjected to avoidable hardship because of administrative or transitional difficulties’.
‘We ask you to understand our situation. We are not asking for luxury. We are asking for what we believe is legitimately due to us after years of service. We ask the good people of Ogun State, civil society organisations, religious leaders, traditional rulers, professional bodies, and members of the media to lend their voices to the call for justice and humane treatment of retirees’.
‘This clarion call is much more communal than personal. Our commitment is for a better life for this group of retirees, as well as servicing Public and Civil Servants of Ogun State and our incoming children out there.
We stand for a better Public Service, Dignity of labour and Committed Service Delivery to the good people of Ogun State. We have served Ogun State. We have given the best years of our lives to public service. Today, we are retired — not useless. We deserve dignity. We deserve respect. We deserve to live’.
‘We therefore appeal to the Government of Ogun State: Please do not allow the transition to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to become a source of suffering for the very people who served this State. Please pay our pensions. Please address our outstanding retirement benefits. Please listen to us. Please act before more families are pushed into unbearable hardship’.
‘We believe that the Government of Ogun State has the capacity and compassion to resolve this matter. We therefore appeal to His Excellency, the Governor, to personally intervene and bring relief to the affected retirees’.
‘Our message today is simple: We are not against the Government. We are not against pension reform. We are not against the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), where it is properly and lawfully implemented. We are simply asking that the rights and welfare of retirees be protected’.
‘We served Ogun State with dedication. We now ask Ogun State to serve us with justice, compassion, and dignity. May God bless all retirees. May God bless the Government of Ogun State. May God bless the good people of Ogun State. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria’, Omopariola added
