Re-inventing pension rights in Nigeria: a review of the new pension reform act, 2004

• Author: N A Inegbedion
• Position: LLM, B L; Senior Lecturer and Head, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria
• Pages: 143-157

NOTES

AND COMMENTS

RE-INVENTING PENSION RIGHTS IN

NIGERIA: A REVIEW OF THE NEW

PENSION REFORM ACT, 2004

NAINEGBEDION*

INTRODUCTION

Pension has been a vexed issue in Nigeria. It has been so not because the

right is not recognized,1 but rather because its recognition has been bogged

down by the absence of the financial wherewithal to actualize the right. Pension

is the accrued right of the employee on retiring from the services of his employer

and satisfying the conditions for payment of the said pension.2 Indeed, the

1999 Constitution enjoins the State to provide pension for all citizens. Thus,

section 16(l)(d) of the 1999 Constitution provides that:

The State shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which

provisions are made in this Constitution that suitable and adequate shelter,

suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage,

old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare

of the disabled are provided for all citizens.

The governments at different levels have abysmally failed to meet this

constitutional objective. It is therefore not uncommon for workers, after

retirement, to be denied pension and gratuity simply because the government

lacked the financial resources to meet its obligation. Before now, and except

for workers in the public service, there was no automatic right to pension.

Although the constitutional provision quoted above is not justiciable, and so

* LLM, B L; Senior Lecturer and Head, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of

Benin, Edo State, Nigeria. E-mail - natlaw@uniben.edu.

1 On whether there is in fact a right to pension, see Chianu, Emeka: Employment Law (Akure:

Bemicov Publishing (Nig) Ltd 2004) 546-568; Emiola, Akintunde: Public Servants and the Law

(Ogbomosho: Emiola Publishers 2001) 192-229.

2 See the case of Momodu v Nigerian Union of Local Government Employers & Ors (1994) 8 NWLR

[Part 362] 336 at 350. See also Black's Law Dictionary, (7th edn, Minn West Group 1999).