Buhari Urged To Place Pension Payment On First Line Charge

Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPPAN) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sponsor an executive bill to the National Assembly to mandate payment of pensions as first line charge in the annual budgets.

The association said the appeal was necessary to address its  apprehensions that the monumental sanity being  witnessed and the unprecedented fraud – free pension regime of his administration may suffer a setback if the next president unfortunately treats pension payment as a lesser priority.

FEPPPAN, which commended the president for making pensioners welfare a top priority, also urged him to immortalise himself in the heart and life of Nigerian pensioners and their families by mandating pension payment as a first line charge in the constitution before he exits office.

These appeals were contained in a communique jointly signed by its president-general, general secretary and national public relations officer l, Tempe Ubani, Mr. Franklin Enrile, and Mr Jonathan Iyoo respectively, after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

The NEC also commended stakeholders’ proactive, diligent and expeditious payment of the monthly pensions and some other outstanding retirement benefits.

The communique said; “FEPPPAN NEC in – session noted with grave concerns PTAD’S  protracted delays to obey and failure to implement the provisions of the Trade Unions Act, regarding the automatic deduction at source, of check off dues  from our members and remit to FEPPPAN, as a registered and recognised trade union.

NEC in-session painfully noted that our members of the private sector organisations and some of the non-treasury government agencies are yet to benefit from the consequential adjustments already enjoyed by their treasury funded counterparts, some of them include, United Bank for Africa (UBA) First Bank, Union Bank etc”.