ABUJA, NIGERIA — The National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) have stepped in to resolve the pension dispute between the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and its retirees, following weeks of growing tension over outstanding pension adjustments.
The intervention followed a joint meeting between NAMA management and representatives of the retirees at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, where all parties agreed to seek regulatory clarification from PenCom and the Wages Commission on contentious legal and technical issues surrounding pension harmonisation.
The dispute centres on pension adjustments linked to salary reviews conducted in 2007, 2010, 2019 and 2024, including the ₦32,000 monthly consequential adjustment sought by the retirees.
The retirees had petitioned the Federal Government, alleging that NAMA failed to implement approved pension increases affecting more than 1,000 former employees. They argued that under Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution, pension benefits should rise whenever salaries of serving officers are reviewed.
However, documents made available at the meeting indicated that only 54 pension cases remain unresolved, with the agency assuring that efforts are underway to clear the outstanding liabilities.
To address the lingering issues, NAMA Managing Director, Farouk Umar, directed the commissioning of a comprehensive actuarial assessment to determine the exact financial implications and individual entitlements relating to the various pension review periods.
The actuarial report has since been completed, with administrative processes already underway for its implementation.
NAMA also clarified that accrued pension rights of employees who migrated from the old Defined Benefit Scheme to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in June 2004 had been fully settled and transferred into their individual Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).
The agency said the collaborative engagement with PenCom and the NSIWC establishes a unified compliance framework to ensure that any future pension adjustments strictly conform with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act and other applicable regulations.
Speaking after the meeting, NAMA’s General Manager, Industrial Relations, Dr. Solomon Ohiomah, described the engagement as a “tie-breaker” that helped clarify contentious issues raised by both management and the retirees.
“Everyone needs everyone as far as this issue is concerned. We appreciate the management, particularly the Managing Director, for having the patience to bring everybody to the table and also invite the regulatory bodies to provide clarification where there were grey areas,” he said.
According to Ohiomah, officials of PenCom explained that retirees who exited service after July 1, 2007, under the Contributory Pension Scheme are not entitled to pension payments directly from NAMA since both employer and employee contributions had already been transferred to their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
He added that the agency had complied fully with government directives regarding accrued pension rights and had discharged its obligations to employees who retired under the CPS.
Ohiomah further explained that the NSIWC clarified that government-approved percentage pension increases are applicable only to organisations operating under the Harmonised Public Service Salary Structure.
“NAMA is not part of the harmonised salary structure because it is a self-funded agency financed through internally generated revenue. Any salary adjustment requires approval by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission after assessing the agency’s financial capacity and other obligations,” he said.
The resolution is expected to ease tensions between the agency and its retirees while providing a clearer regulatory pathway for addressing outstanding pension issues.
