Unilorin SSANU urges cancellation of contributory pension scheme

The University of Ilorin chapter of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has called on the Federal Government to cancel the contributory pension scheme.

The Chairman of the association, Mr Mohammed Akanbi, made the call in Ilorin on Tuesday during the University of Ilorin SSANU Day Celebration and Foundation-laying Ceremony of the branch secretariat.

He said the pension scheme only served the interest of big corporations and capitalists and ignored the pains of retirees.

Akanbi said the way the government and pension fund administrators were running the scheme was not beneficial for workers.

He urged members of the association to subscribe to the SSANU Social Security Scheme as a security net upon retirement.

“The aim of this administration is to expand the scope of the scheme to cover SSANU retirement benefit and to assist members who are critically ill and require financial support,” he said.

The chairman also encouraged members to take advantage of the SSANU Loans and Savings Scheme, which would “allow members to draw part of their savings up to 50 per cent of the total savings invested in the scheme”.

In his lecture entitled: “Comparative analysis of retirement benefit under the old Pension scheme and new Pension scheme: features and issues”, the Pension Desk Officer of the university, Mr Alabi Opaleke, said the contributory pension scheme had been a disadvantage for workers.

He said workers made no input in the investment that pension administrators were making on their behalf, in addition to their being charged regulatory and fund management fees.

In his goodwill message at the event, the National Treasurer of SSANU, Mr Monsur Alfanla, noted that the Unilorin Branch of SSANU could not achieve much on its own in its quest to have the scheme scrapped.

He advised the union to sensitise larger unions, such as Trade Union Congress and Nigeria Labour Congress about the state of things in the chapter.

Earlier at the Foundation-laying Ceremony of the SSANU Secretariat, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, described the secretariat as a welcome and commendable development, especially because the union would not borrow to erect the structure.

He expressed hope that the building would be completed before the expiration of the tenure of the present Executive Council of the association.