The verification exercise of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) that led to the removal of over 50,000 ghost pensioners from payroll and the adjustment of inflated pension benefits by corrupt persons within pension offices of some government agencies in the past are also brewing trouble with the Directorate, executive secretary(ES), PTAD, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme said.
She stated that corruption that has been fought to a standstill under the old pension scheme; the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) is fighting back, especially, because of her reappointment.
She said the corrupt elements in the pension system are determined to make her office unbearable, hence the information making the rounds that pensioners plan to protest.
She said genuine pensioners are happy with the work of the Directorate as many who were removed from payroll and replaced with ghost pensioners by the unscrupulous people have been brought back on payroll while others short paid are paid appropriately.
She said: “We deployed mobile verification to ensure no qualified pensioners are left uncaptured. This has enabled us to eliminate over 50,000 ghost pensioners from the system. We carried out two major removals of ineligible people from the payroll of parastatal pensioners.
“The first one was done in 2019 when we did an assignment with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System to ascertain people who have valid BVN and those who do not. When we did the removal, we created a complaint resolution channel for those who have genuine BVN to send their complaints to us. After the complaints came in, we have restored thousands back on payroll and we are saving millions daily from not paying pensions to those who do not have valid documentation.
“Through verification, PTAD has created a centralised database, complete with pensioners’ personal information, biometrics, and career documents. The database is the first of its kind in DBS history and as such its integrity is paramount”, she added.
However, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners(NUP) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for reappointing Dr. Chioma Ejikeme as the executive secretary of PTAD.
The NUP also distanced itself from the talk of protest against her reappointment.
This was contained in a statement signed by the national president, Comrade Godwin Abumisi.
The NUP, which is the umbrella body of pensioners in Nigeria, noted that, the recent reappointment was one borne out of merit as Ejikeme had in the last four years rejuvenated the hopes of pensioners all over the country by her leadership style and professional disposition to the job.
