By Favour Aliyu
The federal government has paid over N17 billion unfunded liabilities to pensioners after 30 years.
The payment is a significant part of the outstanding pension liabilities owed to pensioners of defunct agencies on Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) payroll.
The Executive Secretary (ES) of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the official finalization of payment of inherited unfunded liabilities to pensioners of defunding agencies.
Ejikeme explained that “the funds that will be utilized to make today’s payments is from the recoveries made from the liquidation of the federal government pension assets recovered from various insurance underwriters to date.”
She stated that the mandate covered the retirees of Nigeria Police, Customs, Immigration, Prisons (now Correctional Services), the civil service as well as federal government parastatals and research institutes that were previously managed by boards of trustees and government-appointed insurance underwriters.
She added that they have settled the liabilities of two defunct agencies; New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) and the Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation (NRC).
The ES listed agencies that were taken over for the management of pensions and severance benefit liabilities of ex-workers to include: NICON Insurance Limited, Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation, Delta Steel Company Limited, Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, NITEL/MTEL, Savannah Sugar Company Limited, Nigeria Aviation Handling Company, Nigeria Defence Academy (Civilian Staff), Nigeria National Shipping Line, Assurance Bank Nigeria Limited, and Federal Housing Authority.
Expressing her delight on the initiatives, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, commended PTAD for their important achievements.
Ahmed said: “The completion of the outstanding payment of the 33% pension arrears owed to pensioners is also one of the achievements.”
