The state governors have said their various administrations will clear all outstanding pensions after the removal of fuel subsidy in 2022.
The governors made this known during the 36th teleconference meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) on Wednesday.
The Federal Government had announced that it would fuel subsidy by the second quarter of 2022.
According to a communique released after the meeting, Kayode Fayemi, Chairman of NGF and Governor of Ekiti State, said the governors have resolved to include settlement of all outstanding pension obligations as part of the social compact with citizens for the removal of fuel subsidy.
The communique read: “On the strategy to build a sustainable Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for State Governments that will also be capable of clearing outstanding pension liabilities, members listened to a presentation by the Chief Executive of AVA Capital, Mr Kayode Falasinnu, and resolved that the settlement of all outstanding pension obligations should be included as part of the social compact with citizens for the removal of fuel subsidies.
“With respect to the required legal and institutional changes required to facilitate a successful CPS transition in all States, State Commissioners of Finance will be mandated to ensure that States meet the guidelines for the implementation of Contributory Pension Schemes by State Governments, including the enactment of a pension law, the establishment of a pension board and the adoption of a transition framework for each State.”
The governors said they also listened to Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank’s country director for Nigeria, on the rollout of a World Bank-financed $800 million facility designed to fund a large-scale conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in the country.
The forum, thereafter, decided that each state governor will establish and chair a steering committee to oversee the conditional cash transfer (CCT) initiative.
