KEY POINTS
- PenCom is conducting a nationwide online verification and enrolment exercise for federal civil servants employed before June 30, 2004.
- Head of Service Didi Esther Walson-Jack has directed all treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise.
- The exercise runs from February 2 to July 31, with PenCom rolling out a new COBRA platform for real-time verification.
Didi Esther Walson-Jack, the head of the civil service of the federation, has directed all treasury-funded ministries, departments and agencies to support a nationwide online verification and enrolment exercise targeting pre-2004 federal civil servants. The push follows a low turnout that has slowed the rollout.
The National Pension Commission, PenCom, is running the one-time exercise for active employees of treasury-funded MDAs who joined the civil service before June 30, 2004. The window opened on February 2 and closes July 31.
Why the exercise matters
Specifically, the exercise aims to capture accurate, complete data on eligible workers so the government can pay accrued pension rights under the Contributory Pension Scheme on time. The data also feeds into how the government settles legacy obligations from the old Defined Benefit Scheme.
Furthermore, the Pension Reform Act 2014 entitles employees who moved into the CPS to accrued pension rights for benefits earned under the DBS. To fund those obligations, the law provides for the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund, which sits with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Walson-Jack issued a circular on April 27, 2026, instructing every treasury-funded MDA to back the exercise. She emphasized that verification is essential for determining the government’s outstanding pension liabilities and making adequate budget provisions to settle them.
Notably, the directive lands at a moment when affected workers risk delays in their accrued pension payments if they fail to enroll within the window. The clock is already ticking.
A digital leap
PenCom has deployed a new platform, the Contributions and Bond Redemption Application, or COBRA, to drive the exercise. The system supports real-time data capture, validation and processing across the federal service.
Specifically, COBRA includes multiple layers of verification, including biometric capture and cross-checking of employment records. The platform aims to improve data accuracy and reduce the kind of errors that have historically delayed pension payments at retirement.
Before PenCom automated the process a few years ago, the workflow relied on manual paperwork, with incomplete records often hampering the process. Today, the exercise is fully digital and represents a significant upgrade from the original online enrollment platform. The change aims to remove the bottlenecks of the past.
What workers must do about pension verification exercise
Eligible civil servants must complete enrollment before the July 31 deadline to avoid disruptions to their accrued pension entitlements. The exercise covers only those who joined before June 30, 2004, the cut-off date when Nigeria transitioned from the Defined Benefit Scheme to the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Additionally, MDAs are responsible for ensuring their staff have the time and access needed to complete the process. Walson-Jack’s circular leaves little ambiguity on that responsibility.
Meanwhile, the verification exercise sits inside a wider effort to clean up Nigeria’s pension landscape, which has long carried unfunded liabilities and patchy data. With the COBRA platform now live and the head of service pushing for compliance, PenCom is betting that a digital, top-down enforcement push can finally close the data gap that has frustrated pre-2004 retirees for years. Whether the July 31 deadline holds will set the tone for further reforms.
