Business centre operators, who have functional photocopy machines, are currently making quick business at two centres where Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) pension verification is ongoing in Enugu.
Correspondents visiting the centres on Tuesday observed that tenths of retired senior citizens being verified surrounded photocopy centres to photocopy their credentials in line with PTAD’s requirement.
Daily Trust recalls that PTAD kicked off on Monday a smooth biometric verification of retired civil servants, who worked in federal agencies, corporations and institutions, in two centres in Enugu, capital of Enugu State.
A business centre operator, Ngozi Okenwa, said that business of making photocopies had improved, adding that she made over N6,000 alone from photocopy on Monday.
Okenwa, whose business centre is located at the Good Shepherd Cathedral Hall, one of the centres for the verification, said that her experience today (Tuesday) was same as Monday.
According to her, “It seems today, I will make more sales since the number of customers for photocopy duplicates keep increasing and I have been attending to them since morning.”
One other business centre operator, Chibuike Onyema, said that that the gain of over N7,500 he made from running photocopies on Monday was unprecedented in the history of his two years business.
Onyema, whose business centre is close to Ingrace Event Centre another venue of the verification on Rangers Avenue, Enugu, said that he had to temporary engage his brother to assist him on Tuesday.
According to Onyema, “Since 8 a.m. all we have been doing is to attend to elderly people that came to duplicate their documents. Although it is a bit stressful not sitting for over five hours now, but the profit from this endeavour is worth it.”
It was gathered that the country-wide exercise would enable the PTAD to have establish a comprehensive, accurate and reliable database for pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme.
Also, the database would be used to address some irregularities in the system, such as ghost workers syndrome, duplicate payments, over and under payments, among other issues.
Daily Trust was reliably informed that 270 agencies, including universities, tertiary education, health institutions and the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, were expected to be covered by the exercise.
The exercise would also cover other agencies such as Nigeria Railway Corporation, Nigeria Postal Service, Aluminium Smelting Company of Nigeria, Nigeria Aviation Handling Company, Nigerian National Shipping Line and Assurance Bank, and others.
