The Association of Former Employees of NICON Insurance (AFENI) Pensioners has expressed grave concern over the systematic exclusion of its members from the revised implementation of the Consequential Pension Adjustment (CPA), the ₦32,000 wage award approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other statutory pension entitlements.
A statement by the leadership of the Association, Prince Emmanuel Omadivi and Mr. Ade S Adesokan said that the exclusion which was executed by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), is a gross act of injustice and a violation of the principles of equity and national inclusion.
The statement said that as a result of the circular that was issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) on 8th July 2024 (SWC/S/04/S.557/T/171), PTAD re-implemented the 2019 CPA for pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme, using the Grade Level model rather than the previously adopted Pay Band structure.
It said that such realignment had led to pension increases of 20% and 28% for many retirees, even as pensioners from defunct agencies—notably NICON Insurance—were entirely left out of the reassessment, claiming that they do not fall within the listed salary structures of eligible agencies.
The statement said that these agencies of government have termed Nicon Insurance and the other so-called defunct Parastatals as those that were receiving super salary structures when in operation.
Nicon Pensioners argued that the same government that sold these Parastatals during the privatization exercise also thought it fit to payroll them for pension, pointing out that there’s nowhere in the Nigerian constitution where Pensioners are discriminated against that would “warrant this apartheid and illegal form of selective treatment.
“In announcing the wage award, the pensioners of Nicon Insurance noted that the President didn’t indicate exclusion of any agencies.
“They further submitted that when Nicon Insurance was performing creditably well, it had a registered in-house Pension Scheme whose kitty at the time of privatization was worth N2.3b but which money was taken away by the core investor.
Part of the statement goes thus:
They believe that if that money had been invested, it would have been serving the pension needs of staff of the so-called defunct Parastatals.
The pensioners see the current action of misguided government super civil servants as a jealous and cruel decision, asserting that they served their
country under full Federal Government’s Agency employment in a now-defunct but once-vital institution that was a major subscriber to Federal Government shares, alongside such entities as NAL, Daily Times, the then Nicon Hilton, now Transcorp Hilton and a host of others.
Many of the affected pensioners are elderly and medically vulnerable, yet continue to suffer income stagnation amid inflationary pressures. The abrupt exclusion without consultation or explicit explanation undermines confidence in government pension reform processes and raises serious legal and moral concerns, as there is no constitutional basis for distinguishing between pensioners of active and defunct agencies under the Defined Benefit Scheme.
The association calls on the Federal Government, the National Assembly, and the National Human Rights Commission to immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding PTAD’s implementation, reinstate entitlements for all affected pensioners of NICON Insurance and uphold the fundamental right to equitable treatment in retirement, regardless of agency status.
“This isn’t just a fight for financial justice,” stated [Barr. Chijioke Nwafor], a member of the pensioners’ association. “It is a fight to protect the dignity of those who toiled to build the institution that once served this nation in full capacity.
The affected pensioners are, however, hopeful that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which has shown respect for pensioners and has championed various reforms and improved welfare for ordinary Nigerians, will urgently intervene to correct this exclusion and restore confidence in the nation’s pension system.
