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15,634 Retirees With Pensions Below N10,000 Exit Scheme – PenCom

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About 15,634 workers who retired under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and could not earn up to N10,000 monthly stipends, withdrew N7.79 billion funds in their Retirement Savings Accounts with their respective Pension Fund Administrators in one year.
According to figures obtained on the National Pension Commission’s quarterly report on enbloc payments to the retirees, they were those who had less than N1.6 million in their RSAs, withdrew the total and exited the CPS from the second quarter of 2022 to end of first quarter of 2023.
They joined 133,738 retirees who had earlier exited the CPS for having less than N550,000 as their RSA balance when they retired.
PenCom had earlier granted approval for the payment of the entire RSA balances of retirees whose RSA balances were N550,000 or below and considered insufficient to procure a programmed withdrawal or annuity of a reasonable amount over an expected lifespan.
This made the total number of retirees who had exited the CPS to hit 149,372, with a total of N41.3 billion returned to them.
The 149,372 figure comprised of 7,584 Federal Government, 4,203 state governments and 137,585 private sector retirees.
According to PenCom’s reports, “In the second quarter of 2022, approval was granted for enbloc payment of retirement benefits to 3,369 retirees, which totalled N1.45 billion. These were retirees whose RSA balances could not provide a monthly pension of at least one third of the prevailing minimum wage (i.e. N30,000).
“In the third quarter, approval was granted for enbloc payment of retirement benefits to 4,529 retirees, which totalled N2.40 billion. These were retirees whose RSA balances could not provide a monthly pension of at least one third of the prevailing minimum wage (N30,000).
“In the fourth quarter, approval was granted for enbloc payment of retirement benefits to 3,677 retirees, which totalled N1.56bn. These were retirees whose RSA balances could not provide a monthly pension of at least one third of the prevailing minimum wage (N30,000)”.
It added that, “In the first quarter, 2023, approval was granted for enbloc payment of retirement benefits to 4,059 retirees, which totalled N2,54 billion. These were retirees whose RSA balances could not provide a monthly pension of at least one third of the prevailing minimum wage (N30,000)”.
In 2022, PenCom said new retirees who were entitled to less than N10,000 monthly pension at retirement could take the total money in their RSAs.
PenCom reviewed its regulation on enbloc payment to retirees, and allowed retirees with less than N1.6 million at retirement to withdraw all the balance in the retirement instead of being on monthly payment.
It stated, “There is a new regulation that says, if your RSA balance cannot provide one-third of the minimum wage, you are allowed to go with the balance in your account.
“If your monthly pensions is not up to N10,000, which is a third of the N30,000 minimum wage, you can take all your saving”.
The pension industry’s regulator explained that due to the reduction in the value of the money, it decided to review the enbloc amount which would amount to about N1.6m.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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