The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stop making excuses and immediately constitute and inaugurate the board of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
The demand came in a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday by NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, amid reports that the Federal Government has failed to set up the PenCom board, leaving workers’ pension funds without adequate oversight for over five years.
The labour union described the prolonged delay as unacceptable and accused the Tinubu-led government of showing a lack of transparency in the management of workers’ pension contributions.
Ajaero expressed concern that despite the huge financial implications involved in pension fund management, the government has continued to run the system without the statutory board, which includes representatives of workers — a key pillar of accountability.
“Perhaps what PenCom failed to tell us are the specific steps taken by the Federal Government to address the issue of non-constitution and inauguration of the PenCom governing board for more than five years,” Ajaero stated.
“This aloofness goes to the heart of the lack of transparency in the management of pension funds. At the root of the crisis of transparency in the management of pension funds in Nigeria is a dysfunctional governance architecture stemming from the non-constitution of the pension governing board,” he added.
The NLC stressed that workers have a right to representation in matters involving their pension savings and warned that the absence of a functional board makes it easier for mismanagement or abuse to occur without checks.
“What is so difficult in constituting the board of PenCom?” Ajaero queried.
The NLC president also criticised PenCom’s management for what he described as a lack of action to persuade the presidency to do the right thing. He noted that instead of making excuses or engaging in defensive statements, PenCom should be pushing the Federal Government to restore proper governance to the commission.
“Having conceded without humility that the government has gravely erred by administering workers’ funds without working-class oversight through representation in the PenCom governing board, the management of PenCom should go beyond excuses and invest its energy in persuading the Federal Government to do the needful — constitute the governing board of the Pension Commission without further delay,” he said.
Ajaero reminded the public that the labour movement was central to the creation of the current contributory pension scheme, which replaced the failed defined benefit pension system. He warned that poor accountability and lack of proper oversight could destroy years of progress made in pension reform.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress will never shirk from its duty of holding the government to account on the management of public trust, particularly workers’ funds. It is simply too dangerous and gravely costly to be silent when a democratic government obstructs representative governance,” the statement added.
This latest criticism from NLC comes amid unconfirmed reports that President Tinubu has appointed Opeyemi Agbaje as the new Chairman of PenCom. However, there has been no official inauguration of the board, and concerns remain that without full board formation, such appointments lack legal weight.
The NLC has also threatened to take stronger action, including the possibility of industrial strike, if the government continues to ignore the issue. The union is also raising alarms over the alleged diversion of funds from the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), another institution critical to the welfare of Nigerian workers.
Observers say this growing tension between labour and government could escalate if urgent steps are not taken to address concerns over transparency, accountability, and worker representation in key financial institutions like PenCom.
PenCom, which manages Nigeria’s growing pool of pension assets under the contributory pension scheme, currently oversees trillions of naira in retirement savings. These funds are deducted monthly from employees’ salaries in both the public and private sectors, making workers major stakeholders in the system.
As Nigerians face economic challenges and rising costs of living, trust in social security institutions like PenCom has become even more important. Labour groups insist that transparency, good governance, and accountability must not be compromised.
“A stitch in time saves nine,” the NLC warned.
