*Govt will no longer owe accumulated arrears to retirees – Adeosun
By Florence Israel, Abuja
“Despite conflicting demands for available cash, President Muhammadu Buhari has always expressed concern about the plight of workers and pensioners. Consistent with this, we have released N54 billion which clears the arrears inherited from the previous administration relating to the period 2013-15 and underpayments in 2016. This will bring relief to thousands of our elders who have served and deserve to be paid their entitlements promptly and fully,” Mrs. Kemi Adeosun emphasised.
The Federal Government says it has cleared the inherited arrears of accrued pension benefits being owed workers who retired under the contributory pension scheme in the years 2014 to 2016 through the release of ₦41.5 billion to the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) for onward remittance to the retirees.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, in a statement released to The DEFENDER on Wednesday by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
According to the Minister, an additional amount of ₦12.5 billion was also released as an outstanding for the first quarter of the year 2017 bringing the total amount to ₦54billion.
Adeosun explained that the amount of ₦41,566,565,184 released to PENCOM was an outstanding appropriated by the National Assembly for the settlement of retired Federal Government employees for the year 2013 to 2016.
“Despite conflicting demands for available cash, President Muhammadu Buhari has always expressed concern about the plight of workers and pensioners. Consistent with this, we have released N41.5 billion which clears the arrears inherited from the previous administration relating to the period 2013-15 and underpayments in 2016. This will bring relief to thousands of our elders who have served and deserve to be paid their entitlements promptly and fully,” Mrs. Kemi Adeosun emphasised.
She went further to say that “the amount we paid includes arrears and the impact is that those who retired as far back as 2013, who had been unable to access pension under the contributory scheme due to non payment, will now be paid.”
Mrs Adeosun also gave the assurance that the Federal Government would no longer owe accumulated arrears to the retirees as she said they would from now on be paid alongside regular salary earners.
“The monthly allocation to the PENCOM based on the appropriation of 2017 will regularly be paid along with monthly salaries of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”
