20% of FG Retirees Are Unpaid – NUP

• 20% of FG Retirees Are Unpaid

About 20 per cent of federal civil service retirees have been denied pensions for about four months, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (Federal Branch) Lagos, has said.

It stated this in a press release made available to our correspondent on Sunday.

The union in the statement signed by its Vice Chairman, Mr. Arasi Lawal, said that the Federal Government and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate did not know the actual number of civil service pensioners in the country.

It said, “For over four months now, 20 per cent of civil service pensioners are not receiving their monthly pensions. Take the month of December, for example, they have made three payments, still they have not completed the payment.”

The union wondered which government organisation should be held responsible for the payment of the pensioners and who were those receiving money from them.

“Who is releasing the money? Who is making the payment among these four organisations; the Budgetary, the Office of the Accountant General of Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, or PTAD?” The NUP said.

As part of the complications of the issue, the union stated that some pensioners from UBA received two payments in December.

“While thousands are still expecting their money, can we continue like this? The government is trying its best, it is only the people who are in charge that are sabotaging government’s effort, pensioners are dying every month,” he said.

Although the monthly pension paid the retirees is small, the union said it was still solving most of their problems.

It questioned the failure of the agency responsible for verification of retirees for not completing the exercise in time, in order to detect the ghost pensioners.

The NUP said, “Some cabals are behind this problem.”