By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
The National Pension Commission is targeting Nigeria’s informal sector to secure the participation of the nation’s largest group of workers in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The Director-General of Pencom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, who spoke at the 2026 National Pension Commission Media Conference in Abuja, yesterday, said that with the informal sector accounting for about 92 percent of the nation’s workforce, it must be included in the pension reform for it to be considered successful.
She spoke on the theme, “From Reform To Reality, Renewed Hope, Pension Security for Nigerians”.
The D-G said that her team was giving the Personal Pension Plan for the informal sector a very strong push to enable them benefit from the various programmes targeting pensioners in the country.
According to her, PenCom has engaged accredited pension agents targeting workers in the informal sector and that the commission was in the process on accrediting more agents for the same purpose.
She said that the agents were taking the Personal Pension Plan to markets, motor parks, farms and workshops to enroll traders, artisans, farmers and transport workers.
Tinubu most Pro-Pensioners President
Ms. Oloworaran said President Bola Tinubu was laying the foundation for a sustainable social security in the country through enhanced welfare for retirees with increased pensions and the free health to be launched at the end of this month.
The Pencom boss described President Tinubu as, “the most pro-retiree president, going by the achievements recorded so far in the pension industry.
“From the very beginning of pensions in the country to all the reforms that have happened, he is the most pro-worker, most pro-retiree President we have seen in the history of Nigeria,” she said.
Ms. Oloworaran said that the administration had settled N758 billion inherited pension obligations (with nearly one million pensioners benefiting from the payment), introduced new benefits, accelerated payment of retirement benefits and improved pension security for workers and retirees.
She said that for the first time in 21 years, pensions of 2,116 retirees of the defunct Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) were reviewed, citing an example of a particular pensioner on N18, 000 monthly, now receiving N206,000.
“Twenty-one years of waiting was answered in a single decision,” she said.
According to her, retirement benefits that previously took up to 21 months to approve are now approved within 48 hours for federal government workers.
The D-G said that two additional initiatives would be unveiled during the National Pension Week scheduled for October 26 to October 30.
She said that one of them was “PenCare,” a retiree healthcare programme that would provide eligible low-income retirees with essential healthcare at no cost during its pilot phase. The pilot stage would cover 30,000 retirees.
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