Niger pension board pays N5bn from N9.1bn 2025 budget

From: Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

The Niger State Pension Board has said that the Board has expended about N5 billion as pension from the N9.1 billion budgeted for the year from January to August 2025.
The Permanent Secretary, Malam Habib Abdulkadir disclosed this when he led the board management and its staff to present the proposed budget for 2026 to the Niger State Planning Commission at the Women Multipurpose Hall in Minna.
Habib Abdulkadir revealed that the state pension payments were up to date, except for those still undergoing biometric capture, as the number of retirees continue to rise on monthly basis and required estimation.
He added that the number of deaths among pensioners were minimal, as the “I Am Alive” verification exercise had helped to detect deceased beneficiaries for a clearer database.
The screening committee after careful review and scrutiny of the budget, made some observations; these included issues with the staff list from the state and local governments, as well as the non-submission of monthly expenditure records from January to August 2025.
Speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Niger State Planning Commission, Hajiya Aishatu Usman noted that the presentation was part of the annual exercise by various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in preparation for the coming year, with the hope that all requirements would be concluded before the final presentation begun.
Hajiya Aishatu Usman appreciated the Pension Board for the presentation and hinted that they would be given the corrected documents, while she further directed that the board should also submit its record of achievements for the outgoing year, 2025.