BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has outlined a series of new pension reforms and welfare initiatives aimed at improving retirement outcomes for federal civil servants.
Speaking at a press conference convened by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, in Abuja yesterday, Oloworaran described the recently approved exit benefits as a significant step toward ensuring a more structured and dignified transition into retirement for public servants.
She emphasized that the new measures are designed to strengthen the pension system while addressing longstanding challenges faced by retirees. According to her, the reforms will enhance financial security and promote better post-service living conditions.
The PenCom DG also highlighted the ongoing one-off enrolment exercise, which is expected to improve the efficiency of accrued pension rights payments. The initiative aims to streamline processes and enable retirees to access their benefits more quickly and seamlessly.
In addition, Oloworaran unveiled new retiree-focused programs, including the PenCare Health Initiative. The scheme, a corporate social responsibility effort by the pension industry, is designed to provide healthcare access to low-income retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme. Through a structured health insurance arrangement, the initiative seeks to improve access to affordable and quality healthcare in retirement.
She further disclosed plans for the implementation of the Minimum Pension Guarantee (MPG), describing it as a landmark policy that will ensure pensioners receive a guaranteed minimum income. The initiative is expected to address the issue of low pensions and strengthen Nigeria’s social protection framework.
Oloworaran also commended the Federal Government for releasing funds to clear outstanding pension liabilities, noting that the move underscores the administration’s commitment to the welfare, dignity, and financial security of Nigerian workers in retirement.
The latest developments signal a renewed push by stakeholders to reform Nigeria’s pension system and improve the overall well-being of retirees.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had inFriday approved an upward review of welfare and incentive packages for civil servants, in a move aimed at improving staff motivation and enhancing earnings both in active service and after retirement.
According to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, measures, which received the backing of the Federal Executive Council, will cover employees under the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS) and the Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS).
Walson-Jack, added that the updated special allowances will cut across all grade levels, ensuring that both junior and senior personnel benefit from the initiative. She added that nearly all entitlements captured in the Public Service Rules have been adjusted, including duty tour allowances, estacode, and book grants.
A 53 years old Nigerian man, Olatunde Abiodun Olusanjo, has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents over allegations involving inappropriate conduct with a minor and sexual assault.
Olusanjo, could be sent back to Nigeria due to his unlawful stay in the United States. In a statement released on Saturday, ICE in Los Angeles confirmed that he was apprehended as part of its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and has remained detained since April 21.
Authorities indicated that Olusanjo had a prior record involving similar offenses, including allegations of molesting a child, sexual assault, and attempting to solicit indecent acts. “Olusanjo has prior arrests related to child molestation, sexual battery, and solicitation of lewd behavior.
He remains in ICE custody awaiting deportation,” the statement added.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commended the Edo government for its approach in safeguarding telecom infrastructure during road construction.
The NCC said that contractors notified the commission and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) before commencing road construction works.
The Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC), NCC, Dr Amimu Maida, who gave the commendation during a media breakfast meeting on Friday in Abuja, also urged other states to emulate Edo in reducing fibre cuts during construction.
“I would commend a particular state, Edo, its approach the matter.
“I will like to appreciate the state’s authorities in the way they have handled that collaboration in a very simple but effective manner.
“Their contractors, prior to starting any work, send out letters to the commission to inform all the telco service providers who own infrastructure to basically give them notice of work.
“That simple action has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of incidences that occur due to construction activities. So it is a model now that we are encouraging other states to adopt.”
On the quality of service that Nigerians are getting from service providers, Maida said that the commission was beginning to see positive signals through independent crowd-sourced data.
He, h, said that more work needed to be done.
“We are still not where we want to be, but we are beginning to see the right signals.
“The quality of experience is improving rather than services degrading, but at the same time, we are seeing a rise in consumption.
“We are still not where we want to be, but are we satisfied as a regulator? I think the area of satisfaction is the fact that we are beginning to see the right signals.”
The EVC said that operators upgraded about 2,800 sites last year across the three major operators, MTN, Airtel and Globacom, covering new sites, technology upgrades from 2G and 3G to 4G and 5G, and fibre additions.
He said operators had now committed to about 12,000 additional site upgrades and deployments this year.
“These numbers in terms of the work done also support this. Last year we saw just under 3,000 sites being upgraded and introduced for coverage and capacity.
“But this year they have committed to upgrading and introducing sites, which in total are about 12,000.
“This is across the three major operators, Airtel, Globalcom, and MTM. And this is a combination of new sites which have been upgraded from slower technologies, 2G, 3G, to 4G and 5G.”
On consumer protection, Maida said the NCC recently introduced a compensation directive for subscribers affected by poor service delivery.
He said the move was aimed at ensuring that consumers directly benefited, rather than government alone collecting financial penalties from defaulting operators.
“This is something that is going to be ongoing for those operators that are not showing commitment towards improving and addressing these issues,” he said.
He said that tower companies were also included in the directive, and are required to make additional investments in power and security infrastructure to support better service delivery.
In her remarks, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM), Rimini Makama, said that the quarterly engagement was organised to enable the media to properly inform the public.
“This quarterly interaction is being held precisely because we believe that a well-informed press produces a well informed public.
“A well informed public is one of the strongest tools we have for driving real progress in the telecom sector,” she said.
Earlier, the Director Public Affairs, NCC, Nnena Ukoha, said that the commission looked forward to frank, constructive conversations on telecom trends.
“It is my expectation that we will constructively utilise this platform for open and frank conversations, sharing insights on the emerging trends in the telecommunications industry.”