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Status of Implementation of CPS By States – Part II

National RecordBy No Comments11 Mins Read

Introduction
ON Thursday, 17th December 2020, we discussed the status of implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by states. The states were categorised into three. The first category was made up of states that have fully keyed into the CPS and are complying with their own laws. The second category, captioned hibernating states, include states that have enacted laws but cannot be said to have keyed into the CPS because they are not complying with their own laws. Therefore, they are as good as not haven keyed into the CPS. The third and last category, captioned ‘Red states,’ include those that are still at bill level.

Today, our discussion will focus on the ‘Red states.’

The ‘Red States’
Sixteen years down the line of pension reforms in the country, these eight states have not moved beyond the bill level in the implementation of pension reform in their states. The facts below with respect to the implementation of the CPS in these states speak for themselves.

  1. Akwa-Ibom: Bill on CPS has been at the State House of Assembly.
  2. Bauchi: Drafted a bill on Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme (CDBS) in 2015.
  3. Borno: Drafted a bill on CPS in 2008
  4. Cross River: Drafted a bill on CPS in 2012.
  5. Katsina: Drafted a bill on Contributory Defined Benefits Scheme (CDBS) in 2017.
  6. Kwara: Presented bill on CPS before the State House of Assembly in 2016.
  7. PLATEAU: Drafted bill on CPS in 2016 (the draft bill has been in the State House of Assembly since then).
  8. Yobe: Still operating a Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS). However, a committee was inaugurated on the adoption of CPS in February 2020.

Two years into the coming into force of the Pension Reform Act 2004 and the CPS established under the Act, no state government enacted a law to protect the pension rights of its workers.

Disturbed by this situation, in 2006 or thereabout, the Board of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) approached the National Council of States on the issue, and presented to it a draft bill to be considered and adopted by states.

The Council agree to and adopted the CPS for employees of state governments, that is, states and local governments’ employees. The Council decided that state governments should get their houses of assembly to enact their own pension laws, guided by the draft bill that was presented to Council by PenCom.

The governors, past and present, of the ‘red states’ have demonstrably shown that they have no regard for the provisions of extant labour laws. Moreover, they ran, and continue to run, their states in grave violation or breach of the provisions of the constitution of the country, which they swore to uphold. Section 188(2)(b) provides that a Governor or Deputy Governor may be removed from office if the holder of such office is guilty of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office. Subsection 11 provides that: “In this section, gross misconduct means a grave violation or a breach of the provisions of this Constitution or a misconduct of such nature as amount in the opinion in the House of Assembly to gross misconduct.” Failure to come up with a law on pension for state’ workers and withholding of their pension is a grave violation or breach of the provisions of the constitution, which makes it an impeachable offense.

Pension and Contract of Employment
A contract is an agreement that is legally binding or enforceable usually between the parties to it. Thus a contract of employment can be defined as an agreement that creates the relationship of employer and employee between parties to it and contains terms that are legally binding on them. Contracts of service or employment are binding like all other contracts.

An employer is required to give an employee a written statement of their particulars of employment, Section 7(1) of Labour Act (CAP. 198) (Letter of Appointment) containing certain key pieces of information that are set out in statute. Usually, though not always, this is set out by the employer in an employment contract, which set out the main terms of and conditions relating to an employee’s employment.

An employer must give an employee the details of any terms and conditions relating to pension and pension scheme. The employment contract may include reference to another document, like a pension law or pension scheme booklet (Section 7(3) of Labour Act [CAP. 198]. This is a common approach taken by employers.

Constitutional Guarantee of Pension Rights of Employees of State Governments
The Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees the right of pension for employees of state governments. Section 210(1) of the constitution provides that “subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the right of a person in the public service of the state to receive pension or gratuity shall be regulated by law”.

Subsection (2) provides that “any benefits to which a person is entitled in accordance with or under such law as is referred to in subsection(1)  of this section shall not be withheld or altered to his disadvantage except to such extent as is permissible under any law including the Code of Conduct”.

The importance of meetings of the Nigeria Governors Forum has been put to question and ridiculed, as a result of the actions of the governors of the ‘red states’. One would have expected that for good governance, governors should imbibe and practice the time tested principle of peer review. Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competence as the producers of the work (peer). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer reviews are used to maintain quality standards, improve performance and provide credibility.

Implications of Lack of Pension Law for Workers of the ‘Red States’
Prior to the pension reform of 2004, Pension Act 1990 was of universal application to all employees of federal, states and local governments in the country. However, the law was repealed by Section 99((1)(a) of Pension Reform Act 2004 and again by Section 117(2)(a) of Pension Reform Act 2014. The repeals left employees of states and local governments with no law protecting their pension rights with the exception of those states that have enacted pension laws after the 2004 repeal of Pension Act 1990. The implications of the actions and inactions of these “red” states are both legal and moral.

Legal Implication
The governors, past and present, of the ‘red states’ have demonstrably shown that they have no regard for the provisions of extant labour laws. Moreover, they ran, and continue to run, their states in grave violation or breach of the provisions of the constitution of the country, which they swore to uphold. Section 188(2)(b) provides that a Governor or Deputy Governor may be removed from office if the holder of such office is guilty of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office. Subsection 11 provides that: “In this section, gross misconduct means a grave violation or a breach of the provisions of this Constitution or a misconduct of such nature as amount in the opinion in the House of Assembly to gross misconduct.” Failure to come up with a law on pension for state’ workers and withholding of their pension is a grave violation or breach of the provisions of the constitution, which makes it an impeachable offense.

Moral Implication
The actions of these past and present governors of the ‘red states’ boarder on immorality. Moral refers to what societies sanction as right and acceptable. While some moral principles transcend time and culture, such as fairness, generally speaking, morality is not fixed. Morality describes the particular values of a specific group at a point in time. The particular group in question is the Nigeria Governors Forum and the nation at large.

The importance of meetings of the Nigeria Governors Forum has been put to question and ridiculed, as a result of the actions of the governors of the ‘red states’. One would have expected that for good governance, governors should imbibe and practice the time tested principle of peer review. Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competence as the producers of the work (peer). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer reviews are used to maintain quality standards, improve performance and provide credibility.

In Kwara State, Bukola Saraki ruled for two terms of eight years – 29th May 2003 to 29th May 2011. He installed Abdulfatah Ahmed, who ruled for two terms of eight years – 29th May 2011 to 29th May 2019. In the current dispensation, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman, came to power through what is assumed to be a popular consent, and sworn in on 29th May 2019. The jury, we can say, is still out. However, we wait with eagerness to see if he will be any different from his predecessors. But whatever the case is, he remains a potential beneficiary of the dubious pension law, enacted for the benefit of governors and deputy governors (Payment of Pension) Law No. 12 of Kwara State 2010 by Governor Saraki towards the tail end of his tenure.

The absence of a pension law as enshrined in the constitution is a big dent on the governors. It is a gross act of bad governance and lack of good intentions for the welfare of their workers, which opens them up to destitution in their old age. It is highly immoral on the part of these governors, past and present, and against the spirit of the constitution against the backdrop of the many of them enacting pension laws for themselves and their deputies. The cases of Kwara and Akwa Ibom states are eloquent examples of this leadership delinquency.

In Kwara State, Bukola Saraki ruled for two terms of eight years – 29th May 2003 to 29th May 2011. He installed Abdulfatah Ahmed, who ruled for two terms of eight years – 29th May 2011 to 29th May 2019. In the current dispensation, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman, came to power through what is assumed to be a popular consent, and sworn in on 29th May 2019. The jury, we can say, is still out. However, we wait with eagerness to see if he will be any different from his predecessors. But whatever the case is, he remains a potential beneficiary of the dubious pension law, enacted for the benefit of governors and deputy governors (Payment of Pension) Law No. 12 of Kwara State 2010 by Governor Saraki towards the tail end of his tenure.

In Akwa Ibom State, Victor Attah held sway for eight years from 29th May 1999 to 29th May 2007. Godswill Akpabio succeeded him and spent eight years from 29th May 2007 – 29th May 2015. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, the incumbent, is on his second tenure having been installed by Akpabio on 29th May 2015. But before his exit in 2015, Akpabio guided the state assembly to enact the dubious pension law that benefits only those who had served as governors and deputy governors.

Those Who Ruled the Other ‘Red States’

Borno

  1. Ali Modu Sherrif: 29th May 2003 – 29th May 2011
  2. Kashim Shettima: 29th May 2011 – 29th May 2019
  3. Babagana Zulum: 29th May 2019 – Incumbent

Bauchi

  1. Ahmad Adamu Muazu: 29th May 1999 – 29th May 2007
  2. Malam Isa Yuguda: 29th 2007 – 29th May 2015
  3. A. Abubaka: 29th May 2015 – 29th May 2019
  4. Bala Mohammed: 29th May 2019 – Incumbent

Plateau

  1. Micheal Botmang 13th November 2006 – 27th April 2007
  2. Joshua Dariye: 29th April 2007 – 29th May 2007
  3. Jonah David Jang: 29th May 2007 – 29th May 2015
  4. Simon Bako Dalong: 29th May 2015 – Incumbent

 

Yobe

  1. Abubaka Abba Ibrahim: 29th May 1999 – 29th May 2007
  2. Mamman Bello Ali: 29th May 2007 – 27th January 2009
  3. Ibrahim Gaidam: 27th January 2009 – 29th May 2019
  4. Mai Mala Buni: 29th May 2019 – Incumbent

Conclusion
The current governors of these states are constitutionally obligated to comply with the Pension Reform Act 2014. Members of the Nigeria Governors Forum are under moral obligation to persuade their colleagues to enact pension laws for their employees. The Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and industrial unions affiliated to them should do everything within the law including putting all workers in these states on strike until the laws are enacted.

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