Buhari Assures Pensioners Of Regular Payment As He Launches Micro Pension Plan

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured pensioners regular payment of their entitlements.

The President made the promise on Thursday when he launched the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Pointing that his administration remains committed to pension payment despite the lean resources of government, President Buhari noted that the initiative is part of plans to ensure that hardworking Nigerians live in dignity and retire without fear.

He, therefore, urged traders, unions, non- governmental organizations and other stakeholders in the informal sector of the nation’s economy to join hands with the government to enlighten their members of the benefits of the micro pension plan.

“Today, millions of traders, farmers and other entrepreneurs in various cottage industries are completely excluded from the different pension programs in existence. The Micro Pension Plan is the natural next step. The program guarantees that when these hard working citizens retire, they can still live in dignity and comfort,’’ he said

President Buhari launched the programme by supervising the registration of a Keke NAPEP operator, Sagir Shawai, who is a resident of Karu village of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He later presented Registration Certificate to Sagir after registering him.

The president said the programme was conceived for Nigerians in the informal sector of the country.

“This initiative will capture those that are not fully captured in the existing pension scheme.

“In the past three years, we have provided loans to farmers and others in the informal sector. The micro pension plan is the next step,” he said.

President Buhari also said retired public servants deserved better treatment and effective service that meets their needs to carry on after retirement, promising to remove the “rot within the pension system’’.

“The dignity of retired public servants who sacrificed their lives for this country will be restored. We will ensure all hard working Nigerians in the private sector, both formal and informal, can retire without fear,’’ he said.

While assuring that the Federal Government will continue to support PenCom to ensure a successful roll-out of the Micro Pension Plan, which will capture citizens that are not fully captured in the formal corporate sector, President Buhari said in addition to the program, his administration is also working tirelessly to sanitize some of the rot within the pension system it inherited.

“I want to assure all Nigerians that this government remains committed to resolving all pending issues on pension payment in the federal public sector despite the lean resources of Government,’’ President Buhari added.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *