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Labour to Down Tools Tomorrow over N1Bn Pension

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Organized labour made up of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Trade Union Congress (TUC) and civil society groups has declared tomorrow (Wednesday) work-free day for the mass protests in Lagos and Abuja to the attention towards the plight of pensioners, who are owed some N1 billion in pension arears.

Mr. Abdulwaheed Omar, president, NLC, said the mass protest was targeted against corruption and impunity in government across states and federal levels, explaining that it was decided that the Lagos and Abuja mass protests hold under the joint umbrella of Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO).

He urged Nigerians across the country to participate actively in the rallies and protest marches to support the demand for a review of the pension fund in order to ensure living pensions and its prompt payment to senior citizens.

Omar, said  that pensioners who are not physically fit to start the procession from union’s secretariat at Yaba, Lagos should assemble at the Nigeria Civil Service Union’s secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja from where they would proceed to join the mass movement on arrival at the Lagos State Secretariat.

Elsewhere, National Mirror reported that Mr. Abiola Aremu, Joint secretary of LASCO,  said the protest would take off by 8 a.m. from the NLC Secretariat, Yaba, after which the procession would move through Ikorodu Road, Maryland, Ikeja roundabout and terminate at Lagos State Secretariat.

According to Aremu, the NLC’s Central Working Committee, CWC, comprising presidents and general secretaries of the affiliate unions of the congress have condemned the growing level of corruption in the country and the crisis in the pension industry, adding also that all efforts to get the attention of government including two letters sent to the Presidency for intervention over the hardships faced by the nation’s senior citizens were ignored.

He said the CWC has expressed concern that despite the unprecedented scam in the pension regime and the raging war of words between the executive and the National Assembly, pensioners remained the main victims with a large number of them not being paid their entitlements.

“The congress had written at least two letters to the Presidency calling for its intervention in the pension crisis. Coupled with the correspondences, the leadership of congress had reached out through other channels to the Federal Government. The congress leadership had also made public pronouncements on the avoidable, but painful pension crisis.

“The Presidency neither acknowledged the letters nor responded to the issues the leadership of the congress publicly raised on the plight of pensioners. Convinced that the congress had exploited all the lawful channels of communication to the government to no avail, congress is certain that nobody wants to listen to the plight of pensioners,” he said.

Aremu said labour and civil society groups are worried that the continued silence of the government means more hardship for its members in the fold of the National Union of Pensioners, NUP, and that labour is determined to ensure justice for its members who are owed billions of pension arrears.

“The CWC resolved that on April 10, 2013, all NLC affiliate unions and state councils across the length and breadth of the country will mobilise workers on a protest march to the Presidency and state government houses,” he added.

Mr. Peter Esele, president general of the TUC, said the congress was unhappy with a situation where the destinies of “our fathers and mothers who served the country with their blood are being toyed with,” and that if the congress fails to fight for change now, today’s workers may be treated the same way when they retire.

“How do we explain it that every now and then they invite these old people for verification and in the end nothing comes of it after all? Some die on the verification ground without receiving their money, subjecting their wards to avoidable pains,” he said.

Esele reiterated that this injustice must stop if the country must move forward, pointing out that in the African tradition the younger ones have so much respect for elders, but that it is unfortunate the reverse is now the case to the extent that money meant for elders is now being stolen by the youths.

The labour chief stated that any nation that abandons its elders will not succeed, while lamenting that the administration of pension funds has been enmeshed in unprecedented corruption with some public officers, institutions of government and banks taking undue advantage of the pensioners to enrich themselves.

“More painful to the congress is the way and manner government, in spite of the cries and agony of the victims and the criticism of concerned citizens, has kept mute over the matter and shown no concern or care since the agitation of the pensioners began,” Esele added.

Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, has also vowed to join the rally. The group made known their decision yesterday in Abuja at a briefing to mark its 2nd Medical and Health Workers’ Week.

Ayuba Wabba , MHWUN’s chairman, , said as part of activities to mark the Week, MHWUN free medical services would be offered children in all senatorial districts across Nigeria.

 This, he said, would take the form of de-worming and health education on personal hygiene.


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NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

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The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.

The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.

In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.

“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.

“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.

“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”

Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.

“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.

17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.


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Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

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Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).

Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.

“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.

She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,

Learning through experience

Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.

Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.

Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.

Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.

World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.

The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.

The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.


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CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

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Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.

Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.

The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.

It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.

Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.

He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.

According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.

“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.

“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”

The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.

He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.

Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.

“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.

“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.

“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.

The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.

All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.


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