By Favour Nnabugwu

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has reviewed, re-computed and paid over N7 billion to 24,000 pensioners in the ongoing computation exercise.

Executive secretary of PTAD, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme, at a meeting in Kwara for pensioners in the north central region.

Reeling out the achievements of the agency, Ejikeme said: “In 2020, I also approved the commencement of an expanded re-validation and re-computation exercise in a bid to on-board verified pensioners not on payroll, cleared all outstanding pension arrears and resolved all complaints of short payments and outstanding gratuities for the civil service pensioners and their next of kin (NoK).

“Over 21,000 unverified pensioners were dropped from the payroll in October 2020. So far over 2500 of the October drops have been verified, restored to the payroll with the attendant arrears paid.

“The on boarding of verified and not on payroll is ongoing.

Some of the accrued and inherited arrears paid by the directorate include: cleared the 33 per cent increment arrears owed pensioners in the parastatals pension department in December 2019.

Following the increment made to salaries of some federal government employees in 2019 as a result of the review of the national minimum wage, a committee was set up by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to review the pension and come up with an appropriate and realistic measure to increase the amount paid as pension to pensioners under the defined benefit scheme.

The directorate also has gotten the receipt of the repatriated sum of £26.5 million hitherto domiciled outside the shores of Nigeria.”

She said that the funds were under investment with Crown Agents Investment Management Limited, United Kingdom