By Abubakar Rabilu, Gombe
The Federal Government has commenced what it described as a final verification exercise to resolve outstanding pensions, allowances and other entitlements owed workers affected by a government programme initiated almost two decades ago.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dasuki Arabi Ibrahim, disclosed this in Gombe while speaking with journalists during the verification exercise.
Arabi said the exercise, approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was aimed at identifying genuine beneficiaries who were disengaged or denied their legitimate benefits and ensuring that all verified claims were settled.
He said the programme dated back to 2007 and 2008 but had remained unresolved for years, leaving many former workers and their families waiting for their entitlements.
“This is the final verification exercise. We want to bring this matter to an end and ensure that everyone who worked and is entitled to payment receives his or her full entitlement,” he said.
The BPSR boss explained that the bureau was collaborating with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Auditor-General for the Federation and relevant anti-corruption agencies to authenticate records and prevent fraudulent claims.
He disclosed that more than 99 per cent of the cases instituted against the Federal Government over non-payment of the affected workers’ entitlements had already been resolved.
However, he said the death of some beneficiaries had complicated the process, as their next of kin and legal heirs were now required to provide the necessary documentation to pursue the outstanding claims.
Arabi also identified the loss of some original records as one of the major challenges facing the exercise, adding that the comprehensive records still available were now in the custody of the BPSR.
He urged affected former workers, their representatives and next of kin who believed they had not been paid or were underpaid to come forward with relevant documents for verification.
According to him, the exercise is being conducted across the six geopolitical zones, with the verification team scheduled to proceed to Kano and Lafia after completing its assignments in other locations.
Some beneficiaries who appeared before the verification panel appealed to the Federal Government to expedite the payment of their outstanding claims.
Yusuf Adamu, Chairman of Retirees, Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, said some workers who served for more than 20 years were receiving pensions that did not reflect their final salary grades.
He said some retirees earned between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000 before retirement but their pensions had not adequately reflected their years of service and applicable salary structures.
Adamu urged the government to review the affected cases and recalculate the pensions based on the retirees’ length of service and appropriate salary grades.
Similarly, Amina Ibrahim, who appeared before the panel as the next of kin to her late husband, appealed for the payment of outstanding entitlements owed to families of deceased workers.
She said she was owed about ₦310,000, while other beneficiaries were also awaiting payments covering several months.
“We came under very difficult circumstances because we are simply trying to claim what is rightfully ours,” Ibrahim said.
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