Striking workers in Ogun State have rejected the proposals put forward by Governor Dapo Abiodun to resolve the ongoing industrial action sparked by unremitted contributory pension deductions totaling ₦82 billion over a 14-year period.
The rejection was made known in a communiqué issued by the organised labour, signed by representatives of 25 affiliated unions, following a seven-hour emergency meeting in Abeokuta on Friday.
The meeting commenced at 9 a.m. and ended around 4 p.m.
According to the communiqué, key concerns discussed during their meeting with Governor Abiodun on Thursday included the contributory pension scheme, new minimum wage and consequential adjustment, eight years of unpaid leave allowances, pension adjustments, and unresolved staff promotions for 2023 and 2024.
The labour leaders stated:
“Council-in-session at the emergency meeting that spanned seven hours, 9am to 4pm, discussed extensively on each of the items outlined above with in-depth evaluation of the offer(s) of the Ogun State Government on all.”
“However, it is expressly stated that the Council-in-session is displeased with the resolve of the state government on especially on item one, the Contributory pension Scheme.
“In effect, the initial position of the Congress subsists and the declared trade dispute as contained in the State Organised Labour letter of Monday, 14th July, 2025 stands.”
Despite this stance, Governor Abiodun maintained his administration’s commitment to resolving the crisis.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, the governor revealed plans for immediate payment to workers retiring from July 2, 2025, under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Abiodun explained that the government would adopt a phased payment model over a 10-year period:
“What is key is that we have decided that in phase one, we will pay outstanding contributions for retirees who have retired from July 2, 2025, to July 2030. We will make that immediate payment.
“Next year, we will make the second payment, which will be phase 2, for those who will be retiring from July 2, 2030, to July 1, 2035.
“We will be making immediate payments for those who will be retiring beyond my tenure in 2027 and beyond the tenure of my successor as well; that is, 10 years.”
He also announced the discontinuation of the gratuity scheme from July 2, 2025, with all consolidated salaries reverting to the CPS model.
“A lot of work has gone into this. In the past, we found that those who have been managing our pensions were not actually the right fit for the purpose; they were not qualified, and that has made things slower than they should have been,” he said.
“Anyone retiring will receive their benefits, and we will provide PENCOM with the resources to ensure that they meet the obligations of those who retire, and that will be done promptly. We will pass the appropriate laws to back this decision.”
The governor assured that the state would fast-track the enrollment of all employees under the CPS, once appropriate Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) are selected.
On outstanding benefits, he said:
“We have paid inherited leave allowances up to 2013, while the amounts from 2014 to 2022, totalling ₦8 billion, are yet to be paid but will be cleared in tranches.”
He further stated that ₦37 billion had been paid as gratuities to state and local government retirees, and ₦163 billion disbursed as pension to workers between 2019 and the present.
Abiodun also noted that six promotion exercises had taken place under his administration in the last five years, and that payments for 2023 and 2024 promotions would begin in September and December 2025, respectively.
The strike, which began on Monday, follows labour’s objection to the implementation of the 2013 Pension Amendment Law. The law moved the commencement date of the CPS to July 1, 2025, requiring both employers and employees to contribute 7.5% each of total monthly emoluments to be managed by PFAs.
Labour leaders claimed the scheme had been mismanaged for over 17 years, with only 34 out of 204 months’ worth of contributions remitted by both the state and local governments.
“In the last 14 years, and still counting, monthly deductions only from workers’ salaries have been diligently consistent without remittance to their PFAs!” the labour stated.
They further alleged that the scheme had become a tool for wage suppression and resource depletion.
“The statue-prescribed investments of the funds, the interests it could have yielded amongst other associated benefits are all in limbo! It simply translated to the apparent shortchanging of the entirety of active and dedicated workers of the State over the years.”
Organised labour insisted that unless the government fully addresses the irregularities in the CPS transparently, the scheme should be suspended and the previous pension structure reinstated.
