Shame wear me Tinubu cap
Nigerian retirees are begging FG to stop hoarding their pension
Good morning, Big Brains. Yesterday was salary day, and I saw tweets from people talking about how their salary practically disappears on the same day. I’m negro-sighing right now because we’re all living the same life at this point. Tinubu!
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigerian retirees are begging FG to stop hoarding their pension
Bandits are killing soldiers in Niger State
The Big Deal
Nigerian retirees are begging FG to stop hoarding their pension
Whoever cursed the federal government to be such a perpetual debtor certainly did a number on the rest of us. Unfortunately, senior citizens and retirees are the latest victims of the chronic debtors in leadership.
Pensioners under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are begging the National Assembly to approve the full release of their ₦758 billion Treasury bond.
This bond was first announced in February 2025 and was meant to clear decades of unpaid entitlements, some of which have been hanging in the air for over 16 years.
In case you’re wondering how this ₦758 billion is meant to be spent, ₦253 billion will cover accrued pension rights for federal retirees from Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), ₦388 billion is for pension increases that have been “pending” since 2007, ₦107 billion will fund the Pension Protection Fund, giving lower-income retirees a safety net they’ve never had and ₦11 billion goes to fixing pension gaps for university professors, so they can finally retire with dignity and a financial safety net.
Why is this a big deal?
If you’re a Nigerian from a low or average-income family, there’s a high chance you know at least one elderly person who waited or has been waiting for years to receive their earned financial benefits. As shameful as this cycle is, Nigeria has continued to repeat it at the expense of people’s lives.
The federal government introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2004, making it compulsory for employers in the public and private sectors to contribute to the retirement plan of their employees. But even though the scheme has been active since then, it has remained problematic —from inadequate funding to a weak regulatory framework.
In February 2025, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, gave pensioners some hope when she announced that the government had released a ₦758 billion Treasury bond to pay them what they’re owed. Olowororaran said the bond would end the era of suffering for pensioners and begin a “new dawn” by ensuring they get their retirement benefits as quickly as possible. Turns out she forgot to add that she was working with African time. The cherry on top of her promise to the retirees was that the funds would be available in May. We are well into the end of June, and she has still not shown workings.
This might seem like just another nonsense in the federal government’s long list of woes, but to these ageing retirees, it’s worse than that. According to the National Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners’ CPS sector, Mr. Sylva Nwaiwu, many retirees have literally died waiting for the money that has already been approved.
The government itself projected that its personnel and pension costs would increase by 58.7% in 2025 to accommodate the increase in minimum wage. If that happened, it certainly doesn’t look like it.
We are conveniently carrying 2007 problems into 2025 — it doesn’t get more shameful than that.
Bandits are killing soldiers in Niger State
Speaking of cycles that need to die an immediate death in 2025, the wave of insecurity in Nigeria is getting worse by the minute.
About 20 soldiers were killed in a bandit attack on their base in Kwanan Dutse, Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State on Tuesday, June 24. Eyewitnesses also confirm that the attack left several other soldiers injured.
As is slowly becoming typical in cases like this, the authorities have been silent since then. The army spokesperson, Onyechi Anele, has not spoken, and the Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security has not reacted either.
To make matters worse, this attack came just hours after over 100 people were reportedly killed during a violent clash between members of the Zamfara Civilian Protection Guard and foot soldiers loyal to a notorious bandit leader, Bello Turji. Over 70 Nigerians were also killed in violent attacks that spread across Kano, Borno, Kebbi, and Plateau during the weekend.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the Niger attack, the area is reportedly under the partial control of terror groups loyal to one Dogo Gide, a bandit leader.
For the past two weeks, this type of attack has continuously made headlines, and there’ll probably be more headlines to come if the federal government refuses to step up Nigeria’s security architecture.
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This Week’s Big Question
Do you still believe in a “better Nigeria?”
Sade’s response - “Believing in a better Nigeria shouldn’t mean pretending things are fine the way they are. There’s nothing good about the current state of this country, so before we start chasing “better,” let’s first focus on actually being good.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Sade’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
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Every man needs his boys
The 2027 election is still two years away, but President Tinubu’s boys are already riding hard for him. As a matter of fact, the president and Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State have bestied so hard that Okpebholo promised to “reward” the president with 2.5 million votes in the 2027 elections.
This pension issue is one in which I would not quickly dump on the current administration'w lap, as you noted that we have carried 2007 problem into 2025 which is indeed a crying shame
And I remember reading about Pension in a Uni course back in 2018 and it was listed there plainly how just less than a dozen individuals connived together to steal hundreds of billions of naira worth or police pension and got away with it with another group of just 5 individuals carrying another billions of pension fund just for themselves. That's when I knew I don't live with human beings in this country but demon possessed entities who would steal what is met for thousands of people and what they saved for for years just to steal with a well placed signature or two.. how can those demonic evil fuckers sleep at night and spend such ill gotten wealth on their own family and think those thousands and millions which was meant for and will die for, their Souls will not Curse them and their families they have spent the money on. They just invited generational curses into their family lineage not even Jesus Christ himself can lift out of their descendants to come
And that also goes for the rest of the evil politicians Currently stealing trillions and not billions anymore meant for millions of Nigerians.. Their generations and descendants to come will be Cursed with the blood and tears of those souls they have robbed. It Is SealeD ♨️♨️♨️♨️
Finally, tinubu administration doesn't escape judgement in this pension matter as the thief just runs a regime of propanganga governance and audio governance that we only hear of the good plans but never see anything implemented
These old cargoes think we are still in the era of NTA feeding us propanganga as news when social media is exposing their greedy evil fucking filthy asses for the whole Nation to see and they are just a disgrace to themselves and their families.
Las las, we are a Nation of thieves and deserve to be ruled by thieves as we celebrate yahooboys and prostitutes now repackaged as slay queens and we wonder why this country has gone to the dogs when we ourselves are nothing more than dogs in our private lives
Until we acknowledge we are all the problem of this country and no one man can come and save us from our greedy thieving selves, then we will forever remain stuck in this cycle of pain and agony and misery as we deserve.