The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, says the federal government will soon begin payment of the pension backlog.

Mr Edun said this during a peaceful rally by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS) at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday.

“We will start next week to pay everything that we can under the current budget as approved by the National Assembly.

“What has happened now is that there is a backlog in terms of contributions and there is a solution,” he said.

The minister said a committee was constituted under the office of the head of service, and plans were ongoing to deal with the backlog under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

“We are going to present to the president a viable solution using the financial market taking care of the huge backlog under the CPS,” Mr Edun said.

He reiterated the federal government’s commitment to pensioners’ welfare.

“I am not happy that you have had to take this step, and I assure you that any time that you or your leaders seek an audience with me, I will be available in the office.

” I was not aware of the November 11 deadline. Otherwise, I would never have allowed a situation like this,” Mr Edun said.

Speaking earlier during the protest, the national chairman of NUPCPS, Sylva Nwaiwu, said CPS had never benefited from any increment of the National Minimum Wage Act.

Mr Nwaiwu said the federal government had not released accrued rights for pensioners for over 20 months (since March 2023 till date).

The chairman said they had dropped several letters for the minister, but none was acknowledged, which made the union members stage the peaceful rally.

(NAN)