Niger pensioners urge govt to fish out, deal with staff involved in pension scam

Pensioners in Niger State have called on the state government to fish out staff of the pension board involved in pension scams and bring them to book in the state.

They made the call shortly after a meeting of the Joint Action Committee on Pension Matters in Minna.

They also blamed officials of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) for not being able to pursue the payment of their entitlements in the state.

The pensioners claimed deductions were made from their monthly pension by NUP officials without any impact and therefore urged the union to put its house in order.

According to them, “There are a lot of misgivings going on in the pension system over the years. And if NUP officials were effective, there wouldn’t have been a need for the composition of the Joint Action Committee on Pension Matters.”

“So, we are calling on the state government to fish out staff of the pension board that are involved in pension scams and bring them to book.”

Earlier, the Chairman of the Joint Action Committee on Pension Matters, Mr Daniel Steven Zitta, while speaking to the pensioners, said the committee, in partnership with NUP, has been working tirelessly to tackle the challenges concerning the payment of pensioners’ entitlements in the state.

The chairman faulted the situation where the names of some retired pensioners who had died over ten years ago are still on the pension payroll in the state.

He disclosed that all the critical issues obstructing the payment of pensions have been settled while commending the Director-General of the Niger State Pension Board, Alh. Nasir Saidu Namaska, for taking the time to scrutinise the records of all pensioners across the state.

Mr Zitta added, “As it is now, every necessary arrangement has been concluded for the commencement of payment of gratuity to pensioners from April 2024. We are appealing to pensioners to cooperate with NUP officials to enable the committee to achieve its desired goal.”