‘Establish Ministry of Pension Affairs and the Aged,’ union tells FG

NUP made the call weekend in Abuja, at an occasion marking this year’s National Pensioners Day where it said that streamlining pensioners’ activities will ensure that challenges facing them are addressed within the shortest time possible.Deputy President of NUP Comrade Dallatu Ayuba in a welcome address said pensioners have so many problems, including the inability […]

NUP made the call weekend in Abuja, at an occasion marking this year’s National Pensioners Day where it said that streamlining pensioners’ activities will ensure that challenges facing them are addressed within the shortest time possible.
Deputy President of NUP Comrade Dallatu Ayuba in a welcome address said pensioners have so many problems, including the inability of thousands of pensioners to access monthly pension since the introduction of e-payment in May 2009.
Ayuba added that there is a “sizeable number of pensioners who were biometrically enrolled between June and July 2010 and issued dud cheques which they could not cash…many pensioners up till date, were paid June 2010 during verification, but no July, August and September. Instead they were paid October, November and December the same year.”
He lamented that a task force set up by former Head of Service Steve Oronsaye was not effective in addressing pensioners’ problems, saying that the ineffectiveness accentuated the burden of pensioners, where “account numbers of thousands of pensioners were changed which stopped payment of pension to these pensioners.”
Ayuba, who represented NUP President Comrade Abel Afolayan commended the Federal Government for implementing a 33% increment on salaries of pensioners, but however, urged the Federal Government to, in line with Section 173 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, ensure that pension is reviewed every five years or together with any Federal Civil Service review or whichever is earlier.        
He regretted that a review has not been done since 2000.