ABU Announces Nationwide Online Verification for Staff Eligible for Accrued Pension Rights

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has issued an official notice informing staff of a nationwide online verification and enrolment exercise for employees entitled to accrued pension rights as at June 2004. The announcement follows a directive from the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), conveyed through a statement vide circular Ref. No. PenCom/TECH/CBRD/2026/34 dated January 19, 2026.

According to the bulletin, the exercise applies to all Treasury-funded Federal Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and universities, and is targeted at active employees who were in service before 30 June 2004 and later transitioned to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

Legal Basis for the Exercise

Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 recognizes the accrued pension rights of Federal Government employees for services rendered before the introduction of the CPS in June 2004. To settle this pension liability, Section 39(1–2) of the PRA mandates the Federal Government to maintain the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund (RBBRF) at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). PENCOM is further empowered under Section 39(3) to conduct verification and enrolment exercises to determine accurate employee data for the computation of accrued rights.

Two-Phase Verification Schedule

PENCOM will conduct a one-time nationwide verification in two tranches for eligible ABU staff:

Tranche Eligible Employees Start Date End Date
1st Active employees employed before 30 June 2004 who are due to retire between 1 January 2027 and 31 December 2029 2 February 2026 31 March 2026
2nd Active employees employed before 30 June 2004 who are due to retire from 1 January 2030 and beyond 1 April 2026 31 July 2026

ABU has confirmed that it will upload details of all eligible staff onto PENCOM’s enrolment platform, the Contribution and Bond Redemption Application (COBRA), beginning 2 February 2026.

Staff Action Required

Affected staff members are required to complete the online verification and enrolment process in collaboration with their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) within their designated timelines. The University emphasized that the exercise will not affect staff members whose service may be extended under Federal Government policies.

However, the management stressed that compliance with the stipulated deadlines is mandatory.

Call for Compliance

The University urged all concerned staff to take note of the timelines and comply accordingly. For further clarification, staff members are advised to contact their departments, relevant University channels, or PENCOM directly.

The notice was issued by ABU Management and published by the Public Affairs Directorate, Office of the Vice-Chancellor.

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