NGO Warns Against Reversing Military Pension to Old Order

The executive director of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Blissful Life Initiative, and Chief Adekunle Seidu has joined in the ongoing debate of military pension by calling on the federal government, the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), The National Assembly and concerned Nigerians to prevail on those clamouring for a return of the to the old order to retrace their steps. He stated that the pensioners including the military men have suffered untold hardship in the past, stressing that their situation has improved in the past years under the management of the pension commission. He warned that if the situation is allowed to degenerate to the old order, it might spell untold hardship for the people who laid down their lives to save the rest of us. He recalled that before now, “collecting pension was a Herculean task which led to the untimely death of some soldiers including slumping and dying while on queue to collect their retirement benefits.” He stated that before 2004 when the contributory pension scheme came on board, it was stressful for government and the generality of Nigerians for pensioners to collect their pension, stressing that the situation has since changed.  Seidu warned that “if the military pension was reversed back to the old order, the soldiers of low rank particularly those who are very old and based in the rural areas may be alienated.” He stated that it was unfortunate that some people he declined to name have been mounting pressure on the National Assembly to reverse the military pension to the old order. These lobbyists, he said are “seeking to take us ten steps backward to where we left five years ago, stating that ‘it was the most un progressive thing to embark upon” He stated that in the past there was allegation that some people unduly sat on the retirement benefits of others while others were short paid or never get paid, if they where not in the good books of the masters. The executive director opined that the current scheme has done a lot to guarantee military pensioners their retirement benefits, adding that it has also averted the number of casualties which pervaded the old order. He recalled some of the ugly incidents of the past to include endless verification exercise, long queues, collapse and eventual death of retirees at payment centres. Under the new contributory pension reform, military workers contribute just 2.5 percent of the 15 percent while the rest is entrusted into their employer. This is unlike that of the private sector and the public services workers, where there is a shared contribution of 7.5 percent ach between the employer and the employed. Under Section 9(2) of the Act, the rates of contribution gave an option such that an employer may agree or elect to bear the full burden of the scheme, provided that in such case the employers’ contribution shall not be less than the 15 percent of the monthly emoluments of the employee. Seidu reiterated the fact that the issues raised by the proponents of the amendment could be taking care of under the current scheme, without having to take the military out of the scheme. The NGO leader applauded the opposition of concerned Nigerians who have raised their voice against the reversal, among them the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). NLC said it "believes that the proposed exemption of the military if passed through will trigger a whole lot of unintended and undesired reactions that will undermine the sanity that the Contributory Pension Scheme has brought into pension administration in this country." He pledged the commission’s readiness to dialogue with interested parties on how to accommodate the differences. It would be recalled that a group of people have been clamouring for a return to the old order on the basis of certain factors, Among the issues include the delay in the payments of entitlements, disparity in the lump sum paid to the personnel of the same rank, low monthly pension being owed retired personal as well differential between the old and the new system of pension administration. Proponents of the review are seeking to insert immediately after the figure "291" in S.8 (2) of the Pension Reform Act 2004, the phrase "and members of the Armed Forces of the Federation in sections 217 and 318 (h)". The effect of the amendment is to include the Military in the list of category of persons exempted by the Act from the Contributory Pension Scheme, such as Judicial Officers". The director-general of the commission Alhaji Mohammad Ahmad had advised those clamouring for a reversal that the issues calling for such amendment could be accommodated under the provisions of the Act as presently constituted.  He added that it was inimical to the collective interest of our people. He cautioned that “conceding to the request for policy reversals at this critical juncture when all efforts should be directed towards institutional consolidation would be unrealistic and counter productive". Seidu called on the National Assembly not to consider the reversal as doing so would be counter productive.