How we removed 50,000 fake pensioners from payroll – PTAD
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has removed over 50,000 ghost pensioners who were inserted by corrupt officials into the payroll, the Executive Secretary, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme, has said.
Chioma also said PTAD has adjusted the accounts of many pensioners whose entitlements were inflated by corrupt persons within pension offices of some government agencies.
She said that she was aware and ready for the corrupt elements in the pension system who would fight back.
According to her, genuine pensioners are happy with the work of the Directorate as many who were removed from payroll and replaced with ghost pensioners by the unscrupulous people have been brought back.
“We deployed mobile verification to ensure no qualified pensioners are left uncaptured. This has enabled us to eliminate over 50,000 ghost pensioners from the system.
“We carried out two major removals of ineligible people from the payroll of parastatal pensioners. The first one was done in 2019 when we did an assignment with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System to ascertain people who have valid BVN and those who do not.
“When we did the removal, we created a complaint resolution channel for those who have genuine BVN to send their complaints to us.
“After the complaints came in, we have restored thousands back on payroll and we are saving millions daily from not paying pensions to those who do not have valid documentation.
“Through verification, PTAD has created a centralised database complete with pensioners’ personal information, biometrics, and career documents.
“The database is the first of its kind in DBS history and as such its integrity is paramount”, she added.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners(NUP) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for reappointing Chioma as the PTAD executive secretary.
The NUP in a statement by its National President, Comrade Godwin Abumisi, distanced itself from the talk of protest against her reappointment.
The NUP, which is the umbrella body of pensioners in Nigeria, said Chioma’s reappointment was based on merit, saying she had in the last four years rejuvenated the hopes of pensioners all over the country by her leadership style and professional disposition to the job
