Atiku Abubakar Criticizes Tinubu's Administration Over Pension Backlogs, Cites Own Reforms

Nigeria's presidential flag bearer for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has strongly refuted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's recent insinuations regarding the Federal Government's pension backlog. Abubakar characterized Tinubu's remarks as "unnecessary ghosting and futile political shadow chasing" by an "inept APC-led administration."

Responding to comments made by President Tinubu during a meeting with Northeast political stakeholders, where he reportedly blamed the current pension issues on the Obasanjo/Atiku government that left office nearly two decades prior, Abubakar's media office issued a statement. The statement dismissed the President's claims as "untenable frivolity" and urged the current administration to "seek more knowledge about good governance and developmental communication."

“

Both President Tinubu and his inept APC administration should seek more knowledge about good governance and developmental communication. Government is a continuum. The present helmsmen cannot continue to waste valuable national time and resources on ghosting and blaming past administrations. A successor must inherit assets and liabilities.

Abubakar emphasized the principle of governmental continuity, stating, "A successor must inherit assets and liabilities." He recalled that when the Obasanjo/Atiku administration took office in 1999, they inherited a "broken, unfunded, and non-contributory Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS)" with a liability deficit exceeding N2 trillion. Instead of blaming predecessors, they enacted the Pension Reform Act of 2004, establishing a "fully funded, privately managed Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS)" regulated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

The former Vice President highlighted the flaws of the previous Pay-As-You-Go model, which was underfunded and generated massive arrears. He contrasted this with the reforms implemented by his administration, which created a mandatory system for employer and employee contributions to individual Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), modeled after international best practices. Abubakar concluded that the current administration should focus on addressing present challenges rather than dwelling on past issues.

“

But by the time Obasanjo/Atiku left office in 2007, their administration had completely revolutionized the sector by enacting the Pension Reform Act of 2004, leaving behind a fully funded, privately managed Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) regulated by the newly established National Pension Commission (PenCom).