N610bn Paid As Pension In 7 Years – PTAD

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has disclosed that over N610 billion has been paid in monthly pensions from January 2015 to December 2021.

Executive Secretary of PTAD, Chioma Ejikeme, disclosed this to State House correspondents during the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to her, the agency has achieved 90% of its mandate.

She said, “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.

“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.”

She also disclosed that the Directorate has repatriated £26.5million from Crown Agents Investment Managers Limited of the United Kingdom being the leftover of the money used to pay British colonial officers, who worked in Nigeria.

According to her, also recovered as legacy pension were assets by the Directorate is the sum of N17.85billion from Boards of Trustees and Underwriters of Treasury Funded Federal Parastatals.

She explained that the monies were used to defray the inherited arrears of defunct agencies and to pay-off inherited outstanding pension arrears.

Ejikeme also disclosed that 303 ex-Biafran Police Officers are now in the pension payroll.

She added, “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.”

Speaking more on clearing long outstanding arrears to pensioners across all the pension departments, most significantly, the huge arrears inherited from the defunct privatised agencies.

She said PTAD inherited 268,897 pensioners on payrolls of the old Pension Office at inception but through certification, it 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.

The PTAD boss also said that 242,894 pensioners were verified between 2015 and 2019 and that 49,409 people were removed from the payroll between 2015 and 2022, while 40,918 were reinstated to payroll between 2015 and 2022.

She mentioned some of the defunct privatized agencies that have been paid to include, NAHCO which has been liquidated and has 661 were paid one-off-payment, ALSCON also liquidated and 1031 pensioners paid in a one-off-payment.

Others are Savanna Bank, 1,596 pensioners in a one-off-payment and liquidated, Nigeria National Shipping Line which has 552 pensioners with inherited arrears 92 months but has been liquidated, Delta Steel with 3,657 pensioners and 96 months inherited arrears but now liquidated and Nitel/Mtel which has its 11,239 pensioners with inherited 84 months arrears and 21 months paid leaving a balance of 63 months among others.

On the implementation of the Consequential Pension Adjustment arising from minimum wage increase in 2019, Dr. Ejikeme 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 PTAD boss said 33 percent of pension increment arrears of 2010 to civil service, parastatals, police, customs, immugration and prison pensioners has been cleared.

She said N1.1 billion pension arrears and gratuities to pardoned war affected Police Officers and next-of kin of deceased officers has been paid, adding that PTAD has paid over N8.5 billion as arrears of pensions and gratuities to civil service pensioners and the next-of-kin of deceased pensioners, while consultation and payment is still ongoing.

She said: “Ex- PHCN 9.7% increment implemented and arrears of N6.9 billion paid.”