By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Federal Government has raised concern over the low turnout in the ongoing verification and enrolment exercise for civil servants with accrued pension rights, as the deadline draws closer.
The exercise, conducted by the National Pension Commission, targets treasury-funded workers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) employed before June 30, 2004.
Despite its importance, participation has remained below expectations, prompting the government to intensify efforts to boost compliance ahead of the July 31, 2026 deadline.
The verification is aimed at capturing accurate data to support the timely payment of accrued pension rights under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
It is also part of efforts to address legacy pension liabilities from the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), which existed before the CPS was introduced.
To improve the process, PenCom has deployed a digital platform, the Contributions and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), designed for real-time data capture, validation and biometric verification.
A statement by the commission on Wednesday night says the exercise is being implemented in phases.
The first phase, which ended in March 2026, covered workers expected to retire between 2027 and 2029, while the current phase runs until July 31, 2026, for those retiring from 2030 onwards.
In a circular dated April 27, 2026, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, directed all treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure full participation.
MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees on the COBRA platform, after which affected workers are to visit their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) with necessary documents to complete the process.
PenCom warn that failure to participate may delay access to pension benefits at retirement.
With the deadline approaching, the Federal Government is urging MDAs to mobilise workers and close the enrolment gap.
