FG begins e-verification of military pensioners 

The Federal Government has commenced the  electronic verification of military pensioners to sanitise pension administration, the Chairman, Military Pensions Board (MPB), AVM Paul Irumheson, said on Friday in Abuja.

Irumheson told newsmen that the exercise, which commenced nationwide, would reduce the risk of traveling by pensioners and impersonation.

“You may recall that on Feb. 15, I briefed this honourable press about the board`s intention or plan to move from physical verification to electronic verification for our military retirees.

“The reasons amongst others include security, risk of travelling from one place to the other, old age of some of our pensioners, and high cost of transportation, particularly for those staying abroad,” he said.

Irumheson said the board successfully conducted a pilot test from Feb. 15 to March 1, adding that only 15 of the 2,000 pensioners verified failed the process.

He said the observations noticed from the trial had been used to improve on the system.

According to him, the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, have approved the commencement of the e-verification.

The chairman assured that the board would carry out sufficient public awareness to enable pensioners to navigate the system with ease, and called on the military pensioners to take advantage of the exercise to process their pensions.

“I hereby declare the Electronic Verification Exercise officially open on full scale for all our retired pensioners for a period of three months from July 1 to Sept. 30.

“Finally, the Board wishes to advise all pensioners to take active part in this exercise.

“Those that fail to take part in the verification exercise will not get their pensions going forward,” he said.