Lawmaker seeks first line priority for pension matters

SENATOR NDUME At PTAD Verification Exercise

Considering the low funding of pension despite its importance especially at retirement, Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Pension, Senator Ali Ndume is seeking that pension be on the top priority list.

This in effect means that pension could be a first line charge when the amendments to the pension bill eventually becomes a law.

Ndume is worried by the short fall of funds to pension matters which has prompted correspondences to President Muhammadu Buhari, highlighting the implications if the situation persists.

Ndume hinted of the Presudent’s favourable disposition but noted it has to undergo the right legislative procedure.

“I specifically wrote to Mr. President on issues that affect organizations in terms of short-fall of funding of pension. We don’t cut allocation to pension”, he said

Ndume who is observing the On-going verification of retirees in lagos by the The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) noted that the mode of verification will change having harmonized and capture the biometrics Of the Retirees.

 “We should be able to make sure that our pensioners can even be verified through voice message, or getting someone to do it on them by swap system”

The Deputy Director, Parastatals Pension Department, PTAD, Kabiru Yusuf projected that 22,200 pensioners are in Lagos and that explains the four centres where exercise is being held.

As At May 4, a total of 12,000 pensioners have been verified from the four centres. Each is expected to handle 375 in an exercise scheduled for 15 days.

“As at Saturday, May 4, I think we have done close to 12,000 pensioners. By our plan, we have sufficient time. However, we cannot force any pensioner to come out for verification; we cannot create career document for pensioners, one of the requirements of every pensioners because their right to pension came as a result of the career they had with the Federal Government,” he said.

The pensioners, according to Kabiru are to present their career documents which are reviewed and verified.

In cases where pensioners can not trace their records, there’s the option of a recourse to their agencies of service for letter of introduction has their employment details.

“We are exercising civility to accept this letter of introduction along with affidavits and other banks statements and related records to verify them with a caveat that we will stamp the form ‘verification incomplete subject to further validation’ so that when we get back to the headquarters, we can then revalidate because our primary purpose is to ensure that only qualified pensioners get back onto our payroll. Secondly, the amounts we pay them are compute accurately and we pay them the correct amount. Thirdly, of course we do not verify dead pensioners to ensure that only pensioners that are alive remain on the payroll,” Yusuf added.