Fed govt loses N1bn to ghost pensioners monthly

Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), University of Benin branch, has disclosed that the Federal government lost N1Billion monthly to ghost pensioners monthly.

The pensioners, in a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Muhammadu Buhari and signed by the Chairman, Mr. Michael Ehinyameh and Secretary Mr. Samanu Momodu respectively, alleged that the attention of the then Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitonal Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs Sharon Ikeazor in a meeting she heard with them in 2017.

They, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately swing into action in resolving their plights, saying that the verification exercise carried out by the PTAD and Federal Ministry of Finance did not see the light of day The pensioners lamented that over N2 Billion was spent in the verification carried out by the PTAD and Federal Ministry of Finance in 2017 without achieving any success.

The SOS said, “Many pensioners were not paid their monthly entitlements and there was always short payments after suffering for 35 years with unblemished records. “The palliatives to the vunerables given by the Federal government was never given to the pensioners and may have been hijacked by unknown persons.

They, however, expressed gratitude to the Federal government for establishment of the PTAD for the payment of the pensioners, even though the management and staff of body never fulfiled the dreams of its operations.