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PTAD discovers 15,357 ghost pensioners

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Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) said in Lagos on Thursday that 15,357 ghost pensioners within Federal Government’s parastatal agencies were collecting pensions illegally.

Mr Kabiru Yusuf, Director, Parastatals Pension Department, PTAD made the disclosure when he spoke on the side-line of a one-day training for newsmen covering pensions.

PTAD was established by the Federal Government in August 2013 in compliance with the provisions of the repealed Pension Reform Act (PRA) of 2004.

Its establishment was necessitated by the need to reform the old Pensions Offices under the Defined Benefit Scheme which was bedevilled by myriad problems.

Yusuf said while reviewing the number of pensioners on its payroll in the last quarter of 2020, it discovered that there were 120,000 of them prior to the call for verification.

He explained that following verification, the directorate discovered that 20,191 of these pensioners could not be found on the PTAD verification data base but were on the payroll.

“After a lot of due diligence, we decided to remove them from the payroll in the belief that if they were genuine pensioners, they would come out to present themselves.

“We established a robust complaint management system and notified the Pensions Commission, our regulator, the National Assembly and agencies where the pensioners claimed to have worked,’’ he said.

He said only 4,834 of the affected pensioners went through the process of the complaint management to present themselves for verification and they were restored on the payroll.

Yusuf said some other cases caused by errors were corrected and the affected persons were also restored to the payroll .

“Up till now, we have close to 16,000 pensioners unaccounted for and unless anyone comes out with valid identification, they are people who have been collecting pensions illegally,’’ he said.

The director said he could not readily name the amount of money the directorate was able to save from ending the illegality, but that in 2016, during the directorate’s initiative to validate BVN of pensioners, it saved up to N7 billion.

Yusuf noted that the initiative was geared towards bringing integrity and validity to the data base in place.

He said that verification was the only recognised basis for PTAD to ascertain that the pensioners it was responsible for were not only qualified but were alive.

The director said the verification would enable the pensioners to link their details to their bank accounts biometrics and thereafter compute their entitlements and pay them their monthly pensions, different from the inherited pension which had lots of errors in it.

He expressed disappointment that PTAD only got an Excel list of pensioners’ names, amounts, bank names and account numbers when it took off in 2014.

“We started making payment on what was called ‘good faith ‘ at that time until when we were able to do verification,’’ he noted.

He told NAN also that PTAD had opened state offices and several social digital platforms manned by competent officers to bring its services closer to pensioners.

Earlier, Dr Chioma Ejike, Executive Secretary, PTAD, said the directorate had worked assiduously over the years to change the narrative of pension administration in Nigeria.

PTAD

PTAD launches software for pensioners in Northeast  

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) on Wednesday launched a software designed for pensioners in the Northeast region of the country tagged: ‘I am Alive’.  

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, disclosed this to newsmen in Gombe shortly after the PTAD stakeholders’ forum for Northeast region.  

She said that the software would enable pensioners have easy access to confirm their living status from the comfort of their homes using either a smartphone or a computer system.  

Over 250 pensioners from the six states of the region – Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Yobe and Taraba were in attendance.  

She said with ‘I am alive’ confirmation would relieve them the field verification they had been carrying out all year, thereby, reducing stress of travelling long distances.  

“’I am alive’ confirmation is convenient and virtually everybody has a mobile phone even though not all are smartphones and not all of the pensioners are computer literate, but a member of their households will have a smartphone to help out.  

“Also the pensioners can use a trusted person in their communities to be of assistance.  

“But I want to advise the retirees not to give their BVN to anybody because PTAD does not require it.”  

Ejikeme said that after completing the exercise across all the geo-political regions, PTAD would go back to the drawing board to determine how the exercise would be useful either after six months or yearly.”  

She said the directorate was also training the pension union executives and desk officers in case of any challenges to enable them to verify through the recognised unions.  

Alhaji Ahmed Gazali, the NUP Assistant Secretary-General, while speaking on behalf of the pensioners, commended PTAD for the innovation of ‘Iam Alive’ confirmation software.  

He said that the new development would go a long way in easing the hardship of pensioners, considering the security challenges in the country.  

He called on the pensioners to always patronise the representative of the union instead of involving third party to avoid fraud.  

“Even if it means involving third party, do not give them your BVN because the moment you release you BVN, you have subjected yourself to another problem,” he warned.  

He appealed to governors to consider the plight of retirees because “one day, they will join us”.  

He also emphasised the need for private sectors and other relevant organisations that were yet to join the contributory pension scheme to do so.  

PTAD

PTAD completes payment of arrears of the consequential adjustment

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has completed the payment of arrears of the consequential adjustment to pensioners under the three operational departments of the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

Mr Gbenga Ajayi, the PTAD’s Head of Corporate Communications, said in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday, in Abuja.

He said that PTAD has completed the payment of arrears arising as a result of the consequential adjustment to pensions to three out of the four operational departments in the directorate.

Ajayi said that it would be recalled that following the Presidential approval for a consequential adjustment to pension of the retirees under the DBS as a result of the increase in minimum wage in 2019.

He said that PTAD commenced payment of the pension increment in May 2021, with an accrued arrears of twenty-four months.

Ajayi said that the The Civil Service Pensioners were paid nine months out of the twenty-four months’ arrears while the Parastatals, Police, and Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pensioners were paid twelve months’ arrears in May.

He said that in July 2021, PTAD paid an additional nine months of the consequential adjustment arrears occasioned by the minimum wage increase of 2019 to Civil Service Pension Department Pensioners and six months of the same arrears to Parastatals, Police, Customs, Immigration and Prisons Department Pensioners,

Thus bringing the arrears paid so far to a total of 18 out of the 24 months’ arrears of the Pension Increment.

Ajayi said that with the promise made by the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme, more of the accrued arrears have been paid, leading to a complete payment in three operational departments, with a promise to pay the remaining arrears before the end of first quarter of 2022.

He said that the cleared departments are: Parastatals Pension Department, Customs Immigration and Prisons Pension Department, and Police Pension Department; while a balance of three months’ arrears is still being owed the retirees under the Civil Service Pension Department.

 Ajayi said that the Executive Secretary has promised to continue promoting the welfare of the senior citizens in accordance with the mandate of the Directorate.

Verification of Nigerian pensioners soon

PTAD launches “I Am Alive” software for pensioners

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The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) on Tuesday launched “I Am Alive” software designed to enable pensioners easily confirm their aliveness from the comfort of their homes, using either a smartphone or a computer system.

The PTAD Executive Secretary, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, at a press conference to launch the software said that the directorate decided to deploy the application starting with 50,000 pensioners in the pilot phase.

Ejikeme said that  the 50,000 selected pensioners would cut across the four operational departments and the six geo-political zones of the country.

She said that people eligible for the project must be under Defined  Benefit Scheme (DBS) and must have been verified by PTAD before.

“ The directorate has decided to deploy the application in phases, starting with 50,000 pensioners cut across the four operational departments and the six geo-political zones, selected to participate in this pilot phase.

“ The exercises cut across all the operational departments of the directorate, namely: the Civil Service Pension Department, the Police Pension Department, the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department, and finally, the Parastatals Pension Department,” Ejikeme said.

She said that the application would take the pensioner through a three-step confirmation process that ends with a text message response and the confirmation process consists of three segments.

“ Identification process, photography and perform the aliveness validation by moving your face to follow the moving object on the screen,” Ejikeme said.

The executive secretary said that on the successful implementation of this pilot phase, the directorate would deploy the application on a full scale at predetermined intervals on a continuous basis for all verified pensioners on the payroll.

“ Kindly be informed that pensioners who are part of this pilot phase have been notified by PTAD via SMS and pensioners who did not receive the SMS should kindly note that they are not part of the pilot phase and would not be able to gain access to the platform to confirm their aliveness at this time.

“ All Pensioners will be duly informed when the application is deployed on a full scale and is available for all pensioners.

“ Be rest assured that nobody can tamper with your pension payment through the “I Am Alive” platform,” she said.

Ejikeme reassured the pensioners and their next of kin that PTAD would continue to clear any accrued arrears, while ensuring that monthly pensions are paid promptly.

She also emphasised  that pensioners’ BVN, ATM Card details and ATM Card PIN were not required for the confirmation process saying “we warn our pensioners to beware of fraudsters.”

Ejikeme said that PTAD earlier embarked on a massive verification exercise which took place between 2014 and 2019 across all the geopolitical zones in the country.

She said that the aim of the verification exercises was to ascertain the eligible pensioners under the DBS, enrol eligible pensioners who were hitherto not on the directorate’s Payroll, while promptly removing the unqualified.

“ The field verification was immensely successful and beneficial to the operations of PTAD resulting in a comprehensive and reliable database, which facilitates the process of budget preparation, accurate pension payments and the determination of outstanding pension liabilities.

“ A major gain of the verification exercise was the reduction of the directorate’s payroll by almost 18 per cent  equivalent to about 50,000 pensioners as a result of removal of ineligible pensioners from the payroll.

“ Over 20,000 eligible pensioners who were hitherto not on payroll were enrolled, 18,046 pensioners comprising of ex-workers of defunct and privatised agencies who had hitherto not been considered for pension were also enrolled.

“ 312 War-Affected Police Officers granted amnesty in the year 2000 were paid their arrears and put on our payroll,” the executive secretary said.

PTAD

PTAD clears African Alliance of debt, commends leadership

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The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), has formally presented a Certificate of Non-Indebtedness to the African Alliance Insurance PLC.
This was after the life insurer settled its outstanding Legacy Funds and Assets indebtedness to the Directorate.
PTAD made this known on its official website.
The presentation was done by the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme at a brief ceremony which was held in Abuja on Friday.
Ejikeme commended the leadership of the company for its commitment to settling the debts against all odds.
“My congratulations go to the Managing Director, Mrs Joyce Ojemudia and her team for this uncommon accomplishment.
“We thank African Alliance Insurance PLC for its commitment toward the liquidation of this lingering debt within the shortest period of time by the current management.
“However, the Directorate will not hesitate to approach African Alliance Insurance PLC for further clarification on Legacy Funds and Assets whenever the need arises,” Ejikeme said.
She called on all other insurance underwriters holding on to Legacy Funds and Assets to release the funds as a matter of urgency in order for the directorate to meet obligations to Pensioners.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of African Alliance Insurance PLC, Ojemudia, thanked God for making the settlement of the debt possible, while acknowledging the support of her board as well as the drive of the in-house committee on PTAD.

PTAD

PTAD pays N954m gratuity, pension arrears to police

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Moses Uwagbale

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) says it paid gratuity and pension arrears to 414 Association of Retired War Affected Police Officers (ARWAPO) amounting to over N954 million.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, made this known at a stakeholders’ forum with ARWAPO in Enugu State on Thursday.

Ejikeme said that death benefits were paid to 145 Next of Kin (NoK) of the deceased pensioners amounting to over N149 million.

She explained that the retired war affected police officers were set of members of the Nigerian police force that took sides with the state of Biafra during the Nigeria Civil War and were dismissed in 1971.

Ejikeme said that they were later pardoned and granted amnesty by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 2000.

She said that in a bid to bring pension administration to the doorstep of the pensioners, PTAD periodically engages stakeholders to update them of the directorates past and ongoing activities.

Ejikeme said that also allowed the organisation the opportunity to interact with the pensioners one on one with a view to serve them better.

She said that the directorate was currently reviewing and computing all pending ARWAPO pensioners complaints in order to payroll them monthly for pension, payments of arrears and payment of NoK.

She also stated that the provision of documents by ARWAPO members required for qualification for benefits computation and payment had been a challenge.

“Meetings such as the one we are having today provide the opportunity for cross-pollination of ideas, provision of clarity regarding grey areas and information dissemination.”

The executive secretary noted that the meeting provided another opportunity for continuous discussion with ARWAPO members on the way forward, getting mandatory requirements for the remaining pensioners to ensure their benefits were paid.

“This is a very potent indication of the importance, seriousness and commitment the present administration attaches to the wellbeing of our senior citizens,” she added.

Ejikeme said that in spite of the COVID-19 challenges the directorate had been making progress in addressing pensioners issues and restoring hope, dignity and a decent living to a Defined Benefit Scheme Pension.

PTAD

PTAD pays 603 ex-workers of ALSCON

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By Anthony Areh

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has paid 603 former workers of Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) the remaining 85 per cent of their entitlement.

Mr Gbenga Ajayi, Head, Corporate Communications, ALSCON, announced the payment in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ajayi said that following the successful documentation, verification and validation of the former workers of ALSCON by PTAD, 603 former workers of the company were paid in December 2020.

He said that payments were made in 13 batches to the beneficiaries, while payment to the Next-of-Kin of deceased ex-workers would be made soon.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, has at different fora re-assured pensioners that the directorate would continue with the payment of the inherited liabilities to support pensioners’ well-being.