President Bola Tinubu has approved a series of measures to clear pension backlogs.
He recently introduced new welfare benefits for pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme, and Nigerians have been reacting.
According to the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, the approval came after PTAD’s Executive Secretary, Tolulope Odunaiya, sought an emergency budgetary allocation to implement pension reforms and welfare benefits for the scheme’s retirees.
“The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate is pleased to announce that His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, has approved a series of far-reaching measures aimed at enhancing the welfare of Defined Benefit Scheme Pensioners, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Recall that the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Tolulope Odunaiya, had earlier made a formal submission to the Presidency, requesting His Excellency’s consideration for an emergency budgetary allocation to implement key pension reforms and welfare benefits,” it read.
The measures include a N32,000 pension increment, percentage increases for pensioners of defunct and privatised agencies, pension harmonisation for all DBS pensioners, enrolment into the National Health Insurance Scheme, and the settlement of long-standing unfunded pension liabilities.
PTAD’s Head of Corporate Communications Unit, Olugbenga Ajayi, further noted that Tinubu has given the green light for more budgetary allocation to fully implement the new pension rates, adoption of the harmonisation policy in the 2026 pension budget, and health insurance coverage for all DBS pensioners under the 2026 budget.
The statement concluded by saying that the balance of inherited unfunded pension liabilities owed to NITEL/MTEL pensioners, plus the arrears owed to other parastatal pensioners, will also be added to the 2026 budget proposal.
