Retired staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the aegis of the Concerned CBN Pensioners Forum, have petitioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what they describe as years of pension maladministration.
They accused the apex bank of breaching binding commitments, underpaying retirees, and conditioning entitlements on acceptance with a disputed settlement.
In the document signed by the group’s chairman, Mr. David Edogiawerie, and secretary, Mr. Samuel Ehigie Isokpunwu, the pensioners said the dispute bordered on promotions, pension computation and unpaid arrears, had left many in financial distress and eroded confidence in an institution charged with regulating the nation’s financial system.
At the heart of the petition is the issue of “notional promotions”.
The pensioners said that during the 2002 and 2004 early exit exercises, the bank undertook to advance eligible staff to the next grade, prompting many to retire in reliance on that assurance.
However, implementation was delayed until 2019, with arrears backdated only to July 2015 instead of to the respective retirement dates.
They alleged that similar commitments were fully honoured in later early-exit programmes, leaving earlier retirees at a disadvantage.
The Forum argued that the delayed promotions and limited backdating had compounded hardship for affected pensioners, many of whom, they said, had struggled to meet educational and living expenses.
They added that it defied reason that an institution that had breached a binding commitment would proclaim profits without first discharging its outstanding obligations.
The retirees also cited the fallout from a 2010 Supreme Court of Nigeria Judgement.
They alleged that in implementing pension adjustments in 2011, the CBN applied rates aligned with increases granted to serving counterparts in other establishments rather than to its own serving staff.
The result, they said, was an anomaly under which pensioners who retired before May 2000 and after December 2006 earned more than those who retired in the intervening period.
According to the Forum, the disparity persisted until July 2015 when corrections were made, but arrears covering four years of underpayment were not paid.
The pensioners further questioned the handling of the 2011 early-exit programme, initiated in 2009.
While gratuities were reportedly calculated on terminal emoluments, pensions were pegged to 2009 salary levels, effectively nullifying intervening promotions.
Tensions escalated in January 2025 when, amid pending contempt proceedings and an appeal reportedly filed by the Bank, a “Settlement Agreement” was issued.
The pensioners alleged that the agreement conditioned pension increases on beneficiaries’ admission of the Bank’s compliance, and those who declined were excluded.
The Forum acknowledged reforms under CBN Governor Olayemi Michael Cardoso in foreign exchange stability and banking consolidation, and commended the intervention of Attorney-General Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi.
However, they urged the Attorney-General to go the full mile and called on President Tinubu to direct the CBN to resolve what they termed longstanding pension injustices.
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