Retirees of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have accused the Bank of pension maladministration, alleging unpaid arrears, irregular implementation of notional promotions and discriminatory treatment across early-exit programmes.
In a statement, titled, “Urgent Appeal on Pension Maladministration at the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the pensioners called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to resolve the issues and restore their financial entitlements.
“We respectfully appeal to President Bola Tinubu, to urgently prevail upon the CBN Governor to resolve these longstanding pension injustices and restore the rights, dignity and financial security of affected retirees,” they stated.
Central to their complaint is the alleged refusal of the Bank to pay arrears arising from notional promotions promised during the 2002 and 2004 early-exit exercises. According to the retirees, qualified staff were assured advancement to the next grade before retirement, and many exited the Bank in reliance on that undertaking. However, implementation was delayed until 2019, with arrears backdated only to July 2015 instead of to their respective retirement dates.
They further alleged that while similar commitments were fully honoured in later early-exit programmes, earlier retirees were not accorded the same treatment.
“It defies reason that an institution that has breached a binding commitment and the trust reposed in it would be proclaiming profits without first discharging its outstanding obligations,” the pensioners said.
On the issue of pension adjustments, they stated that in 2011, following a 2010 Supreme Court judgment, the CBN implemented increases using rates aligned with serving counterparts in other establishments rather than those applicable to its own serving staff. This, they said, created disparities whereby pensioners who retired before May 2000 and after December 2006 earned more than those who retired between those periods. Although the anomaly was corrected in July 2015, the retirees alleged that arrears for four years of underpayment were not paid.
“The Bank declined to reverse or rectify this anomaly and allowed it to persist until July 2015, when it effected corrections but refused to pay arrears for the four years of underpayment, an omission inconsistent with standard financial practice and the Bank’s role as apex banking regulator,” they stated. The pensioners also faulted the computation of pensions under the 2011 early-exit programme, initiated in 2009.
While gratuities were calculated based on terminal emoluments, they alleged that pensions were pegged to 2009 emoluments, thereby nullifying intervening promotions.
They further disclosed that in January 2025, while contempt proceedings and an appeal instituted by the CBN were pending, the Bank issued a “Settlement Agreement” asserting compliance and conditioning pension increases on pensioners’ admission of such compliance. Those who declined were excluded, they said.
While acknowledging reforms introduced by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso in forex stability and banking consolidation, the retirees said the pension dispute remains unresolved. They also commended the intervention of Attorney General Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi and urged further action to ensure full compliance with the law.
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