The co-founder of Globus Bank, Elias Igbinakenzua, has called for urgent reforms to Nigeria’s pension system, warning that millions of workers remain excluded from structured retirement savings because of the country’s vast informal economy.
Igbinakenzua made the call while delivering the keynote lecture at the 9th Professor Adebayo Akerele Memorial Lecture Series held at the University of Benin (UNIBEN). His lecture, titled “Financial Planning and Retirement Dilemma: The Focus of Nigerian Employees,” examined the challenges confronting workers in preparing for life after active service.
He observed that although Nigeria has a predominantly youthful workforce, a significant proportion of workers operate in the informal sector and remain outside the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), leaving them without any structured retirement savings.
According to him, the limited participation of informal sector workers in the pension system poses a serious threat to long-term financial security and could deepen old-age poverty if deliberate reforms are not introduced.
He stressed that expanding pension coverage beyond the formal workforce should become a national priority, insisting that every Nigerian worker, irrespective of employment status, should have access to a reliable and sustainable retirement savings scheme.
