Atiku Abubakar Critiques Tinubu on Pension Issues

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential flag bearer of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President, condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's recent remarks about federal government pension backlogs. Atiku described Tinubu's comments as unnecessary political blame directed at the Obasanjo/Atiku administration, which left office nearly two decades ago.

He asserted that the current administration should focus on governance rather than blaming predecessors. Atiku highlighted that when he and President Olusegun Obasanjo took office in 1999, they inherited a significant pension liability deficit exceeding N2 trillion.

Instead of blaming past administrations, they enacted the Pension Reform Act of 2004, establishing a fully funded Contributory Pension Scheme regulated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). Atiku criticized Tinubu for failing to acknowledge these reforms and the establishment of a robust regulatory authority that improved the pension sector.