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Reps summon Adeosun, others over non-payment of pensioners’ entitlements

By Adamu Abuh and Otei Oham, Abuja
30 March 2017   |   4:40 am
The House of Representatives has summoned the Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to clear the air over the non-payment of pensioners’ entitlements running into billions of naira.

Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun

• Seek review of N140 billion GEEP loan repayment plan
• Plan to probe alleged N2.8 billion clearing charges on PHCN, equipment procurement

The House of Representatives has summoned the Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to clear the air over the non-payment of pensioners’ entitlements running into billions of naira.

Also to appear before the lawmakers next week Thursday is the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor and the Director-General of the National Pensions Commission (PENCOM), Chinelo Anohu-Amaju and many other officials connected with the management of pensioners’ claims.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who made this known yesterday when Mr. Abel Afolayan-led executive members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners paid him a courtesy visit at the National Assembly, said that the Chairman of the House Committee on Pension, Mr. Hassan Shekarau, would surely raise the issue at the plenary today.

He assured the pensioners that the House would meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to work out a definite plan to offset outstanding pension liabilities.

In another development, the House has urged the Federal Government to review the loan repayment plan of the N140 billion Government Enterprising and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) to enable beneficiaries gain maximally.

This followed the adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance moved yesterday by Adamu Chika (Niger, APC). Chika said that the stringent conditions attached to the programme negated the purpose of boosting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

He said there was need to review the conditions to make the programme accessible to Nigerians as the Bank of Industry (BoI) had started disbursing funds. According to him, a condition that provides a grace period of six weeks for the beneficiary to commence weekly repayment of loan of between N10,000 and N100,000 for one year is stringent.

“This six-week period is insufficient, so there is need to relax the condition to enable the programme achieve its purpose of economically empowering Nigerians,” he said.

Also, the House has resolved to investigate the payment of N2.8 billion allegedly used in clearing charges on power equipment that were procured by Federal Government in 2012.

In a motion yesterday, Gaza Jonathan (Nasarawa) said the equipment were mostly of the then Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), NIPP and Federal Ministry of Power. He said the equipment that were granted priority at the time should have been evacuated within days of arrival but were abandoned so much so that they turned out to be ‘a conduit pipe for siphoning billions of naira from the government in the name of overtime charges and other sundry fees.’

The lawmaker stated that the procurements were made before the unbundling of PHCN, thus making the equipment the property of the government. Ruling on the motions, Speaker Yakubu Dogara stressed the need to ensure the effectiveness of the programme to stimulate entrepreneurship. He ordered the House committees on Power and that of Banking and Currency to investigate the matters and turn in the report of their findings in three weeks.

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