The Nigerian government, through the National Pension Commission (PenCom), has approved a 1,173% increase in pensions for retirees of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), nearly 21 years after protests for better benefits. PenCom disclosed in a statement on Wednesday that the 2,116 NSITF retirees will now receive a monthly pension of N159.95 million, up from N12.56 million. “With this approval, NSITF retirees will now go home with over N206,000 monthly pension, up from N18,000, and at least N3 million in pension arrears per retiree,” the statement said. “Additionally, as part of the enhancement, the 2,116 NSITF retirees have received N8.70 billion in pension arrears, with an average payment of about N3 million per retiree. “In one notable case, a retiree’s monthly pension increased from about N18,000 to N206,000, alongside over N8 million in arrears,” the commission added.