Ogun PDP demands probe into N82bn unremitted pension deductions

Abiodun

The Peoples Democratic Party, Ogun State chapter, on Sunday, urged the Daisi Elemide-led State House of Assembly to compel Governor Dapo Abiodun to account for the alleged N82 billion in unremitted workers’ pension deductions under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Arc. Kayode Adebayo, the opposition party, described the claim by organised labour—that the governor has not remitted a single kobo into the CPS in his six years in office—as “a monumental act of betrayal.”

Recall that the organised labour in the state, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Joint Negotiating Council, last week gave the state government a 72-hour ultimatum to suspend the planned implementation of the CPS, which is slated to begin on July 1, 2025.

The workers demanded that the government either revert to the old pension scheme or postpone the implementation of the CPS until all their concerns are addressed.

The labour unions stated that the 17-year-old pension scheme, signed into law in 2008 by former Governor Gbenga Daniel, was flawed from inception as Daniel failed to remit 25 months’ worth of deductions before leaving office in May 2011.

They added that Daniel’s successor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, amended the law in 2013 with the intention of fully implementing the CPS by July 2025, but only remitted nine months of workers’ deductions during his eight-year tenure.

The unions further alleged that Abiodun, in his six years in office, has also failed to remit any deductions into the scheme, despite numerous letters and appeals from organised labour.

The PDP accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of Governor Abiodun of showing disregard for workers’ welfare through its continued silence on the unaccounted N82 billion.

The statement read, “We pose the following pertinent questions: Where is the ₦82 billion? Why has the state not accounted for it? Why is Governor Abiodun recklessly rolling out a new phase of the CPS when the foundational structures, legal frameworks, remittance culture, pension board, and workers’ trust are conspicuously non-existent?