Put eligible pensioners on payroll, retirees beg PTAD

Retirees under the auspices of the Concerned Federal Pensioners have called on the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate to ensure that every eligible pensioner is put on the payroll.

This is one of the association’s expectations for the new year shared with The PUNCH on Saturday.

Retirees in the association have complaints ranging from unpaid pensions to short payments to outright exclusion from payrolls and said they have been engaging PTAD on these issues with little or no reprieve.

In a chat with The PUNCH, the vice chairman of the association, Akinyele Oludimu, said, “My expectations this year are for every eligible pensioner to be put on the payroll, outstanding arrears to be paid promptly, and gratuity of pensioners should be paid. (For those who are yet to collect the same.

“Health Insurance Scheme for Pensioners should be looked into. The minimum wage approved by Mr. President for pensioners should be implemented without further delay.”

He added that PTAD had commenced the payment of the N32,000 pension increment approved by the Federal Government, which was backdated to July 29, 2024.

“PTAD commenced the payment of the N32,000 by paying four months arrears instead of six months.” Please, let’s put pressure on them to release the balance of two months.”

The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Tolulope Odunaiya, in early December, announced plans to implement the approved N32,000 pension increment for pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme. It was backdated to July 2024.

Speaking at the National Executive Meeting of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners in Abuja, Odunaiya assured pensioners that PTAD is finalising plans to pay accrued arrears resulting from the increment.

Odunaiya explained that these payments would increase PTAD’s monthly payroll to N5.3bn and the annual payroll to N63.6bn.

She assured pensioners the accrued arrears related to the N32,000 pension increment would be cleared by the new year.

Also, pensioners under the aegis of the Association of Retired Federal Senior Public Officers of Nigeria have expressed disappointment with the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate for its failure to place pensioners in the normal position on the government-approved payment table.

ARFESPON members at the end-of-the-year meeting held in Lagos requested that PTAD address the situation.

The Chairman of ARFESPON, Lagos branch, Olufemi Odewabi, in an address, regretted that during a similar meeting at the end of the 2023 year, the pensioners had hoped that the year 2024 would be better, “but unfortunately it was not anything to write home about in terms of achievement.”

According to Odewabi, at the beginning of the year, pensioners envisaged that PTAD would mend its fault by arranging to bring them to the normal position on the government-approved payment table.

Highlighting the sustained short-changing of pensioners by the Directorate, Odewabi said, “The 20 per cent that the government said should be paid to pensioners from January 2024, which was paid in arrears in August 2024, was only paid to a handful of pensioners.”

He questioned the reason for the delay, saying, “Now is it a paucity of funds, or what is the reason for the delay? Has PTAD come to think of it that most pensioners are living to die any moment?”

He urged that any of their benefits should be given to them while they are living.