Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has assured the organized labour of his administration’s commitment to fully implement the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for state workers, beginning this July 2025.

Governor Abiodun gave the assurance during a meeting with labour leaders at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, convened to address concerns over the CPS and other outstanding labour-related matters that led to the ongoing strike action by workers in the state.

He stated that the implementation of the CPS will take effect for workers retiring from July 2, 2025, and announced a phased payment plan covering a 10-year period.

“We have decided that in Phase One, we will pay outstanding contributions for retirees from July 2, 2025, to July 2030. These payments will begin immediately. Phase Two will cover July 2, 2030, to July 1, 2035, and commence next year,” Abiodun explained.

He noted that while his administration will handle payments for the remaining two years of his tenure, eight subsequent years would fall under his successor’s administration, ensuring continuity of the scheme.

The governor also confirmed that the gratuity scheme will be discontinued from July 2, 2025, with all consolidated salaries reverting to the contributory pension structure.

“A lot of effort has gone into this. In the past, we discovered that those managing pensions were unqualified, which delayed progress. We will now ensure PENCOM is adequately resourced to meet its obligations to retirees promptly,” he added, pledging to pass legislation to support the reforms.

He further disclosed that all employees would be enrolled and registered under the CPS once the appropriate Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) are selected.

On other labour matters, Governor Abiodun said his administration had cleared inherited leave allowances up to 2013, while the outstanding N8 billion covering 2014 to 2022 will be paid in tranches.

He revealed that N37 billion has been disbursed as gratuities to both state and local government retirees, and N163 billion paid as pensions since 2019.

Abiodun also announced that promotion benefits for workers will be addressed, with payments for 2023 promotions starting in September 2025, and those for 2024 commencing in December 2025.

He promised to review the basic salaries of state workers to reflect current realities and called on organized labour to continue engaging the government through dialogue rather than strikes.

“I appreciate the support you have shown this administration since 2019, which has contributed to the socio-economic progress of the state,” he said.

In response, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Hameed Benco, said the decision to embark on the strike was driven by fears and misinformation surrounding the implementation of the CPS, which had long been a source of concern for workers.

Also speaking, the State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Akeem Lasisi, clarified that the industrial action was not aimed at crippling the state’s economy, but to get the governor’s attention, especially following the recent amendment to the 2006 Pension Reform Act, which took effect on July 1, 2025.

He urged the state government to review workers’ basic salaries to match those of their counterparts in other Southwest states.