E-Financial
Over 70m Nigerians Have No Pension Plans
A new NOI Polls has revealed that 6 in 10 Nigerians (some 64 per cent) do not have pension plans, indicating that most Nigerians are not making plans for retirement and that the pensions market in Nigeria is largely untapped.
According to NOI Polls which is the No. 1 for country-specific polling services in the West African region, more than half of the Nigerians who currently have pension plans (54% of 36%) are subscribed to the contributory pension schemes for public organisations.
It was also revealed that majority of Nigerians who have pension plans (73% of 36%) are satisfied with their current Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs); while those who claimed not to be satisfied (27% of 36%) attributed the lack of satisfaction to the non-receipt of updates on their pension accounts.
The opinion poll was conducted from September 2nd to 4th 2013. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample.
1018 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed.
With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 3%.
Similarly, for those who do not have any pension plans, the major reasons cited are: “I am a student” (22%), “I don’t have a job” (21%) and “I don’t know much about pensions” (13%). These are the key findings from the Pension Snap Poll conducted in the week of September 2nd, 2013.
The Pension Reform Act 2004 enacted by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Establishes a contributory pension scheme for employees in public and private sectors.
The scheme is fully funded, privately managed with a third party in custody of the funds and assets and based on individual accounts. It ensures that everyone who has worked receives his/her retirement benefits as and when due whether in the private or public sector.
With the contributory scheme, an employee and employer makes monthly contributions of a minimum of 7.5% each of the monthly emoluments of the employee towards the retirement benefits of the employee. However in some cases, an employer can make all the contributions on behalf of the employee.
The old pension schemes in Nigeria were not fully funded and this caused great problems in the management of retirement funds.
The implementation of the contributory pension scheme introduced by the Pension Reform Act 2004 has addressed such problems to a certain extent; nevertheless it is not enough for Nigerians to be totally dependent on the scheme.
In view of this, Personal pension, which is not common in Nigeria, is an area that can be explored to augment the contributory pension. Individuals regardless of their employment status could choose to save or invest money in order to make provisions for them at retirement.
In view of these, NOI Polls conducted its latest poll on Pension to explore the current state of Pension in Nigeria, in terms of the proportion of Nigerians that have pension plans, the type of pension plans people subscribe to and the level of satisfaction with Pension Fund Administrators.
Respondents to the poll were asked five specific questions. Firstly, in order to ascertain the proportion of Nigerians that have pension plans, respondents were asked: Currently, do you have a pension plan? Findings from this question revealed that overall Majority (64%) of Nigerians do not have a pension plan, while 36% indicated they have pension plans.
Analysis based on geo-political zone showed that the South-East and the North-West zones had the highest proportion of Nigerians without pension plans with 68% and 67% respectively; and the South-West zone (41%) accounted for the highest proportion of respondents that have pension plans.
Secondly, in order to gauge the type of pension plans Nigerians have, respondents that indicted they have pension plans (36% of the total) were asked: What type of pension scheme do you have?
Overall, more than half of Nigerians who currently have pension plans (54% of 36%) are subscribed to the contributory pension scheme for public organisations.
While 35% have the contributory pension scheme for private organisations, it also emerged true that 11% obtain their own personal pension independently.
From the geo-political zone standpoint, the South-East (76%) and the North-Central (73%) zones accounted for the highest proportion of respondents that indicated public organisation pension scheme. Also the South-South (52%) and the South-West (50%) zones had the highest proportion of respondents that indicated Private pension scheme, while the North-East (42%) zone had the highest number of people who have personal pension plans, among other findings.
The next currency crisis could accelerate the shift of the roughly $315 billion global stablecoin market into a digital-dollar alternative for citizens in emerging economies, notably in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
As local fiat currencies face devaluation and high inflation, citizens and businesses are increasingly utilizing smartphone-based stablecoins (such as USDT and USDC) as hedges and primary mediums of exchange.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the rapid adoption of dollar-linked digital assets—particularly in countries heavily affected by inflation like Nigeria—poses significant risks to monetary sovereignty.
With up to 95% of surveyed individuals in some African markets preferring to receive payments in stablecoins over local fiat, the rising volume of these decentralized, cross-border channels weakens domestic currency demand and dilutes the effectiveness of local monetary policy.
IMF observed in a report titled “Stablecoins in Nigeria: A Growing Cross-Border Channel” noted that the widespread use of stablecoins poses risks to monetary sovereignty, particularly as more individuals and businesses turn to digital dollar-linked assets for savings and transactions.
Nodding in agreement is Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII Institute), a non-profit organisation run by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund.
FII Institute said that central banks face structural challenges.
And according to the institute, when citizens move savings out of national banks and into private digital wallets, conventional capital controls lose their grip.
Institutions like the Bank for International Settlements warn that interest-bearing stablecoins compete directly with domestic-currency deposits, complicating financial oversight and making smartphone-based transfers incredibly difficult for authorities to monitor.
In Nigeria, Naira depreciation has pushed users toward dollar-stablecoins, according to report by Gino Matos in cryptoslate.com.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a steady value by pegging its price to a reserve asset, such as a fiat currency (e.g., the U.S. dollar) or a commodity (e.g., gold).
They act as a bridge between traditional money and the digital asset world, providing the speed of crypto without the extreme price swings of assets like Bitcoin.
Federal government has reopened three federal government of Nigeria (FGN) bond issues valued at N1.2 trillion for subscription as part of efforts to raise long-term funds from the domestic debt market.
The Debt Management Office (DMO), which announced the offer on Tuesday, said the three reopened bond issues are each valued at N400 billion.
According to the DMO, the first offer is the January 2035 FGN Bond, a 10-year reopening, carrying an interest rate of 22.60 per cent per annum.
The second is the May 2028 FGN Bond, a 15-year reopening, with a coupon rate of 15.45 per cent per annum, while the third is the June 2037 FGN Bond, a 20-year reopening, also valued at N400 billion.
The office said the bond auction is scheduled for July 20, while successful subscriptions will be settled on July 22.
It explained that the bonds are offered at N1,000 per unit, with a minimum subscription of N50 million and additional investments in multiples of N1,000.
For the reopened bonds, the DMO said successful bidders would pay a price based on the yield-to-maturity that clears the auction, in addition to any accrued interest on the instruments.
Interest on the bonds will be paid every six months, while the principal will be repaid in full on the respective maturity dates.
The DMO reaffirmed that FGN bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government and constitute obligations chargeable on the general assets of the federation.
It added that the bonds qualify as trustee investment securities under the Trustee Investment Act and enjoy tax exemptions for eligible investors, including pension funds, under the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act.
The bonds are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and FMDQ Securities Exchange and also qualify as liquid assets for banks in computing their liquidity ratios.
FGN bonds are long-term debt instruments through which investors lend money to the Federal Government in exchange for periodic interest payments and repayment of the principal at maturity.
Gigbanc, Nigerian fintech startup, has announced it is winding down operations, after three years, citing a tough fundraising climate.
Paul Omoregie Okundaye, and Babatope Oni, co-founders of Gigbanc
The company, which set out to build cross-border financial infrastructure for African freelancers, creators, entrepreneurs and businesses, confirmed the decision in a statement signed by its co-founders.
“After careful consideration, Gigbanc’s leadership has made the difficult decision to wind down operations,” the company said, adding that the move “reflects the broader funding environment affecting early stage startups in Africa, a challenge that has been widely documented across the ecosystem.”
Since its founding, Gigbanc grew a community of more than 150,000 people across multiple countries and processed over $7.28 million (N10 billion) in payment volume, helping thousands of users receive their first international payment.
The company also ran conferences, fellowships and community events aimed at connecting entrepreneurs and creators across the continent.
`Despite the shutdown, Gigbanc said it is not walking away emptyhanded.
The company disclosed that it is in active acquisition discussions with a prominent financial infrastructure firm, with further details to be shared once the process closes.
Paul Omoregie Okundaye, co-founder and CEO, and Babatope Oni, co-founder and CTO, framed the closure as the end of a chapter rather than the erasure of Gigbanc’s impact.
“While Gigbanc is winding down operations, we don’t see this as the end of what we built together. Instead, we see it as the completion of an important chapter,” the founders said. “The relationships, lessons, community, and impact we’ve created will continue to outlive the company itself.”
The founders thanked users for their trust throughout the company’s run, citing everything from transactions and feature requests to bug reports and criticism as forces that shaped the product
“We leave this journey incredibly proud. Proud of our team, who gave everything they had.
Proud of the community that rallied behind us,” they said.
Gigbanc’s exit adds to a growing list of African startups that have shut down or scaled back operations in recent years as venture funding on the continent has tightened, with founders increasingly citing capital scarcity as the primary driver behind closures and consolidations.
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