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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja and Uche Henry
The federal government has stepped up efforts to compel participation in the ongoing nationwide verification and enrolment exercise for treasury-funded civil servants employed before June 30, 2004, as low turnout threatens plans to clear longstanding pension obligations.
The exercise, coordinated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), is a one-off mandatory programme designed to capture accurate records of eligible workers whose pension benefits accrued under the old Defined Benefit Scheme before Nigeria switched to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2004.
Officials said the data collection drive, which began on February 2, 2026, will end on July 31, 2026, and is critical to ensuring affected workers receive their retirement benefits without delays.
The renewed push follows concerns that many eligible employees have yet to complete the process, despite repeated notices and the importance of the exercise to their future pension payments.
In a circular dated April 27, 2026, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, directed all treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure immediate compliance and mobilise affected staff.
The directive stressed that the verification exercise is necessary to determine the Federal Government’s actual pension liabilities and make adequate budgetary provisions for settlement of accrued rights.
Workers covered under the programme are employees of treasury-funded MDAs who were in service before June 30, 2004, and later migrated to the CPS. Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, such workers are entitled to pension benefits earned before the reform era.
Those obligations are expected to be funded through the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund, domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
To simplify the process and eliminate past bottlenecks, PenCom has deployed a fully digital platform known as the Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), replacing older manual systems plagued by incomplete records, delays and verification challenges.
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The new platform enables real-time data capture, processing and validation, while also using multiple layers of checks including biometric capture and employment record verification.
Industry analysts say the move marks a major shift in the management of pension liabilities, as government agencies increasingly adopt technology to improve transparency and efficiency.
To avoid congestion and improve coordination, the exercise has been divided into phases. The first phase, which ended March 31, covered workers expected to retire between January 2027 and December 2029.
The second phase, now underway, runs from April 1 to July 31 and targets employees expected to retire from January 2030 onward.
Under the arrangement, MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees onto the COBRA platform. Affected workers must then visit their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) with required documents to complete enrolment.
PenCom-trained Pension Desk Officers within government institutions are expected to coordinate the exercise and guide workers through the process.
Officials warned that failure to participate could complicate the computation of accrued pension rights and delay access to benefits upon retirement.
With just weeks to the deadline, pressure is mounting on Permanent Secretaries and heads of agencies to close the enrolment gap and ensure no eligible civil servant is left out.
For thousands of public workers nearing retirement, the success of the exercise could determine how quickly they receive benefits earned over decades of service.
