PenCom, NURTW Partner to Provide Pensions for 9mn Transport Workers
By Patience Ikpeme
Millions of Nigerian commercial drivers, conductors, and logistics workers may soon start saving for their retirement following a new move by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
The two organizations have started talks to bring about nine million transport workers into the Personal Pension Plan under the country’s main pension system.
This plan came to light when the National President of the NURTW, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, widely known as MC Oluomo, visited the Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting, which had top officials from both sides in attendance, focused on two main things: helping transport workers save for their old age and finding new ways to help them buy modern vehicles for their transport business.
Alhaji Akinsanya explained that because the union is everywhere in the country—with members working in motor parks, delivery services, interstate traveling, and city transport—they have a great chance to bring pension plans to informal workers.
According to the transport leader, the union wants a three-way plan. This includes registering transport workers for pensions in large numbers, setting up a system where members can contribute money daily through the money already collected at parks, and creating a program that helps workers buy new commercial vehicles through easy payment plans.
Under this proposed vehicle plan, transport operators will be able to get buses and other transport tools with support from development banks, commercial banks, and other investors. The daily money collected from the operators will go through the union to pay back the vehicle loans and, at the same time, put money into each worker’s personal pension account.
Alhaji Akinsanya stated that this method will make it easy for workers to pay back their vehicle loans, reduce the risk for banks, and help transport workers build a habit of saving for the future since they usually do not have official pensions.
In her response, the PenCom boss, Ms. Oloworaran, praised the NURTW leadership for coming up with a plan that protects and empowers its members financially. She called the proposal “a bold step that could truly bring more informal workers into the pension system and help the country’s economy grow.”
Ms. Oloworaran stated that PenCom is fully ready to work with the union and other groups to find real ways to make these plans happen. She added that bringing more people into pension plans is a top goal for PenCom, and this move matches their ongoing work to help Nigerians manage their money better and live good lives.
The PenCom Chief Executive also noted that the partnership supports the key goals of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, especially in areas like social welfare, fighting poverty, economic empowerment, and fixing the transport sector.
Ms. Oloworaran said this discussion is one of the biggest pension plans for informal workers in recent years. She noted that if it succeeds, it will greatly increase the number of people saving for retirement in Nigeria, secure the future of millions of transport workers, and create a lasting way to upgrade public transportation across the nation.
Both PenCom and the NURTW shared a strong hope that this partnership will turn into a major national program that brings huge social and economic benefits to the country, while giving social security to workers who have been left out for a long time.
