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FG retirees decry Delta government’s non-payment of benefits

By Owen Akenzua, Asaba
24 August 2017   |   4:19 am
Retired federal civil servants in Delta State who have not been paid their pensions and allowances in the past 12 months have decried government’s nonchalant attitude and failure to pay them.

Pension

• Threaten showdown over unpaid pensions arrears
Retired federal civil servants in Delta State who have not been paid their pensions and allowances in the past 12 months have decried government’s nonchalant attitude and failure to pay them.

The retirees who also threatened showdown over their alleged unpaid pensions, however called on the Federal Government Pensions Board to meet their pension’s obligations or be prepared to face their protest.

Leader of the pensioners, Patrick Ajidua, who spoke to journalists in Asaba alleged that some persons at the federal level have been sending text messages to them, urging them to pay N50, 000 for the processing of their pensions documents.

He lamented that the suspected fraudsters have been taking advantage of the delay in the payment of their pensions to defraud them, especially some of the unsuspecting retirees who are desperately looking for ways and means to be paid.

Saying that the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) in Abuja had severally warned against the antics of the suspected fraudsters, Ajidua disclosed that the text message of one of the fraudsters read: “You can get your pension processed and be paid N50, 000. Do not ignore or else you will not be paid.”

He said the message was forwarded to their mobile phones, but the pensions authorities warned them against making payments to third party yet it has failed to pay them.

Ajidua alleged that their pension was often shared between the federal and the state government but only the state government has been meeting its own obligations.

The pensioners further alleged that on several occasions they were invited for screening and verification that yielded no positive results after they were subjected to untold punishment in the sun, adding: “The last verification we went for was on March 6, 2017 at the Labour House in Asaba. Nothing came out of it till date”.

One of the pensioners, who is close to 90 years said, “After that verification, I thought that would be the end of the exercise, but as we speak, nothing has come of it. All we keep getting are text messages for us to deposit money in their account.

They, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government and the pensions authorities to wade into their complaints urgently and ensure that their outstanding pensions are paid.

But PTAD officials who did not want their names mentioned, said they were making arrangements to ensure that the pensioners are paid and dispelled allegations of neglect as untrue.

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