Newspaper Owners Owe Journalists N720mn in Unpaid Pensions, Says PenCom
By Patience Ikpeme
The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, has expressed alarm over widespread non-compliance with the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 by media organizations in Nigeria.
She revealed that newspaper owners collectively owe journalists over N720 million in unpaid pension contributions.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mr. Kabiru Yusuf, in Abuja, Ms. Oloworaran described the findings as “very troubling.” She called for urgent collaboration between PenCom and newspaper proprietors to ensure compliance across the sector.
PenCom acknowledged the significant value of the media’s role in shaping public discourse, but noted it is disheartening that many organizations within the media are failing to meet a fundamental obligation to their employees.
The Director General stated that the PRA 2014 mandates all employers to remit pension contributions for their employees monthly, within seven days of salary payment. However, she said PenCom’s investigations show that many newspaper houses have disregarded this obligation, accumulating arrears totaling over N720 million.
Ms. Oloworaran informed NPAN that PenCom is not seeking to penalize erring organizations at this stage, preferring instead a collaborative approach to achieve sector-wide compliance. She added that PenCom has been engaging employers across various industries and recently held discussions with the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) to drive awareness and compliance specifically within newspaper organizations.
While noting the overall poor compliance within the industry, the DG singled out Daily Trust for commendation, describing the paper as a “leading example” for consistently meeting its pension obligations since 2015.
Responding, NPAN President Kabiru Yusuf acknowledged the pension compliance issues within newspaper organizations in Nigeria. However, he urged PenCom to understand the severe financial situation confronting the media industry.
The NPAN President explained that “the reality is that many newspapers in Nigeria are struggling to even pay staff salaries, let alone pension contributions.” He added that “only a few are managing to stay afloat, and even among them, there is often reluctance to part with money for statutory payments like tax and pensions.”
Mr. Yusuf welcomed PenCom’s engagement efforts and proposed a broader industry dialogue through the Nigerian Press Organization (NPO), a coalition that includes NPAN, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He suggested that PenCom participate in an expanded meeting of stakeholders in Lagos this year, where the challenges of compliance and potential solutions can be jointly addressed.
Ms. Oloworaran agreed to the proposal, expressing hope that such a forum would serve as a meaningful step toward sustainable pension reform compliance in the media. “We are not focused on being punitive because the law allows us to sanction. That is not what we are looking at. I believe we can work together to get all these media houses to make the necessary contributions towards the financial security of their workers,” the DG said.
The meeting marks a renewed effort by PenCom to hold employers in the media sector accountable and compliant with the PRA 2014.
