Niger Advised to Allocate 20% of IGR for Pensions Payment

By Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Director General of the Niger State Pension Board, Mr. Tinau Ahmed Muhammed, has asked the state government to affirm its policy that 20 per cent of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) should be committed to the payment of pensions and gratuities to retirees monthly.

The state government had announced the new policy over a year ago following problems being faced by the administration to meet its financial obligations to its retirees but the policy has not been implemented.

Speaking at the 2021″Roundtable Discussion” organised by the Niger State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Minna, the Director General of the Pension Board, Mr. Usman Tinau Muhammed noted that implementing the government pronouncement will go a long way to solve the problem retirees are going through in efforts to get their entitlements.

Muhammed also suggested that pension funds deducted should be invested in instruments that would have appreciable returns, adding that license insurance companies should also be approved to provide “Group Life Insurance Services to state employees and to cover death claims in the event of the demise of a civil servant.”

He suggested that “a state Redemption Bond Account” should be serviced with a minimum of five per ent of the state and local government wage bill on monthly basis ” to cover for payments of Accident Rights as and when due”

Muhammad also said that to bring stability to pension administration in the state “deductions and remittances should be resumed in line with the state new rate as embedded in the new law, 10.5 per cent for employer and 7.5 per cent for employees,” advising that government should go further by encouraging employees ” to do voluntary contributions as a way of having more funds available to them on retirement.”