BY EDMOND ODOK – Over N610 billion has been paid in monthly pensions to retirees from January 2015 to December 2021, according to the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD).
Executive Secretary of PTAD, Chioma Ejikeme, said in the circumstance, the Pension agency has achieved 90 percent of its mandate delivery.
According to her; “Through the unwavering support of President Muhammadu Buhari who has been adjudged by pensioners as the most pensioner-friendly President in Nigeria, and administration which has made pension an unwritten first-line charge.”
She told State House correspondents during the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Ask Rock Villa, Abuja, the PTAD boss said with; “The able supervision of the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and our Regulator, PenCom, PTAD’s Management Team has been able to achieve the following: Full implementation of the TSA which has ensured the sanctity of pension funds andenshrined transparency in Pension payments.
“Regular monthly payments of pension without fail since inception as and when due. Payments of long outstanding arrears to pensioners across all the pension departments, most significantly the huge arrears inherited from the defunct/privatized agencies.
“Regular engagements with Pensioners and other stakeholders across all the six geo-political zones, to update pensioners on activities of the directorate.”
Also, the Executive Secretary said the Directorate has repatriated £26.5 million from Crown Agents Investment Managers Limited of the United Kingdom being the leftover of money used to pay British colonial officers, who worked in Nigeria.
Furthermore, she explained that recovered as legacy pensions were assets by the Directorate is the sum of N17.85billion from Boards of Trustees and Underwriters of Treasury Funded Federal Parastatals.
For her, the monies were used to defray the inherited arrears of defunct agencies and to pay off inherited outstanding pension arrears to the beneficiaries.
Similarly, the PTAD Chief Executive said about 303 ex-Biafran Police Officers are now in the pension payroll, adding; “Well, we call them ‘war affected’, they are the policemen who served on the Biafran side during the Civil War. Currently, we have 303 of them on our payroll.”
On the payment of long outstanding arrears to pensioners across all the pension departments, particularly the huge arrears inherited from the defunct privatised agencies, Ejikeme said PTAD inherited 268,897 pensioners on payrolls of the old Pension Office at inception.
However, through certification, she said the Directorate has created a centralized database complete with pensioners personal information, biometrics and career documents, adding that after verification, as at October 2022, 226,328 pensioners are on the payroll.
Additionally, she said 242,894 pensioners were verified between 2015 and 2019 with 49,409 persons removed from the payroll between 2015 and 2022, while 40,918 were reinstated on the payroll between the same period under review.
Listed among some of the defunct privatized agencies that have been paid are: NAHCO, which has been liquidated and has 661 names that enjoyed one-off-payment, and ALSCON also liquidated with 1031 pensioners settled in a one-off-payment.
Others include: Savanna Bank, 1,596 pensioners in a one-off-payment and liquidated; Delta Steel with 3,657 pensioners and 96 months inherited arrears but now liquidated; Nitel/Mtel, which has its 11,239 pensioners with inherited 84 months arrears and 21 months paid, leaving a balance of 63 months and the Nigeria National Shipping Line (NNSL) which has 552 pensioners with inherited arrears 92 months but has been liquidated.
Dr Ejikeme, who also spoke on the Consequential Pension Adjustment (CPA) arising from the minimum wage increase in 2019, said; “The result is an average minimum pension of N8,638.74 as against about N500 in the past.
“This pension increment which was based on absolute figures is a departure from previous pension increments. It is adjudged the most equitable and most impactful pension increment in the history of Nigeria.
“As a result of the increment, PTAD paid N37.5 billion as arrears covering 24 months covering April 2019 to May 2021 when approval was given for the payment.”
On other accrued inherited pension arrears, the Executive Secretary said 33 percent of pension increment arrears of 2010 to civil service, parastatals, police, customs, immigration and prison pensioners has been cleared.
She stated that also paid is the sum of N1.1 billion in pension arrears and gratuities to pardoned war affected Police Officers and next-of-kin of deceased officers as well as the payment of ex- PHCN 9.7 percent increment implemented and arrears amounting to N6.9 billion.
Also highlighted among PTAD’s milestone achievement is the payment of over N8.5 billion as arrears of pensions and gratuities to civil service retirees and the next-of-kin of deceased pensioners, even as consultation and payment are still ongoing to address all outstanding cases.
