A Wry Grin
After years of flip-flop in the management and payment of pensions, the Federal Government takes stabilising steps to settle arrears of pension owed many of its retired personnel
By Emma Maduabuchi
Three months ago, April 2006, many pensioners of the Federal Government, who hitherto had engaged in what had somewhat come to be seen as a yearly ritual – the verification exercise - did not know that the exercise would turn-out to yield good fruits.
Incidentally, the good fruit manifested last week Monday, August 7, as the government put plans into effect to clear the backlog of pension arrears it owed most of its retired personnel.
As early as 9 am, last week, Tuesday, pensioners in Lagos State had besieged the premises of the Civil Service Union House at Alhaji Ashabi Cole Street, Alausa, the state headquarters to participate in the verification exercise going on there.
The Source encountered some of these pensioners, many of them in an upbeat activity to conclude formalities required for them to be paid.
The Source also encountered many who had received, through the banks (especially those who had participated in last April’s comprehensive exercise) who confessed their joy at having been paid through the banks.
It thus became the fulfillment of statements made by the ministry of finance earlier promising that government was determined to end the problem of arrears of pension to its former workers, as a result of which it had earmarked the sum of N75 billion.
In one of her many statements on the issue, the Minister of Finance, Esther Nenadi Usman had submitted the details of the arrears owed each pensioner which were being verified and reconciled.
The exercise would last for two weeks, beginning from Monday, August 7, to Friday, August 18.
Remarkably this year's exercise, apart from being geared to settle the issue of arrears of pension once and for all, according to government, presented a situation of which the exercise was quicker and easier, unlike what used to obtain.
There were however many who expressed fear that all may not receive theirs afterall, if they encounter some problems along the way.
Among other fears was that generated by the demand of state governments which required such documents as may not be easily available before the end of the exercise.
Lagos state government requires such documents as; letter of appointment, letter of last promotion / gazette; letter of retirement; birthday certificate / age declaration; and an audited computation sheet.
Some people equally expressed concern on what they thought would be the fate of state and local government retirees, who had been owed several years.
When The Source visited the Lagos State pension Office at block 17, Alausa Secretariat to have the Permanent Secretary, Kehind Olatunji address some of these fears, he was not available as he was said to be very busy sorting out pension issues.
Indeed of all the offices visited on this issue, including that of his deputy, none was forthcoming with answers to the issue.
There are two major ways of obtaining the current arrears as outlined by the National Pension Commission. First, is for the group of those who were not part of the April exercise who are the ones required to engage in the comprehensive exercise.
The second group are those who participated in the comprehensive exercise last April. These consisted mainly of the military and the academics. They were mainly the ones the minister spoke about. They were required to update their files on-line, through the pension commission’s websit: (www.pencom.gov.ng). After this, their arrears would be credited to their accounts.
Speaking to The Source last week, Donatus Amaefula, a retired naval personnel who currently works with a commercial bank in Lagos, and who falls into the second category, expressed gratitude to the government for the gesture.
According to him, it was good that government was settling the arrears of salaries.
He recalled with pains, what he claimed to be the harrowing experiences pensioners had gone through over the years.
“Some people have died of hardship, malnutrition and hypertension. For some, their children have dropped out of school, while some others have become armed robbers,” he said.
Another pensioner who pleaded anonymity, told The Source that there was nothing to praise government for in this final settlement of pension arrears. “They owed, they have paid. Should that be a reason to begin to sing praises?”, he asked.
He said he was not happy that many people who served their countries were left to die on verification queues.
He asked further: “Do you know how many people they have sent to their early graves? Do you know how many families that have been destroyed as a result?”
Speaking further, he claimed that he had lost his wife and family because he was unable to provide for them.
Notwithstanding, many commentators and pensioners think the development was good enough. Oliver Ajibo, a retired naval personnel claimed that if the government had not done it, there was nothing they could have done about it.