Pensioners Group Challenges PTAD Over Alleged Irregularities in Benefit Payment

By LOVETH AZODO, Lagos

The Association of Retired Federal Senior Public Officers of Nigeria (ARFESPON) has issued a direct challenge to the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) regarding the authenticity of its current benefit payment table.

During the 2024 edition of the group’s inaugural meeting in Lagos, Chief Olufemi Odewabi, Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of ARFESPON, called upon PTAD to defend its payment practices before the supervising ministry and the Chairman of the Salary and Wages Commission.

Expressing concerns over what they deem as irregularities in benefit payments, ARFESPON urged all pensioners under the Defined Pension Benefit scheme managed by PTAD to condemn the alleged use of an internally generated salary payment table.

Chief Odewabi lamented what he described as a concerted effort by PTAD to shortchange pensioners, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency in the payment process.

The challenge comes in response to statements made by PTAD spokesperson, Mr. Gbenga Ajayi, who refuted claims of irregularities in benefit payments.

However, Chief Odewabi presented two tabulated documents during the meeting, one approved by the Salaries and Wages Commission and another allegedly developed by PTAD for payment purposes, casting doubt on PTAD’s assertions regarding the use of approved tables.

Irked by the PTAD spokes person’s reaction on the salary table issue, Odewabi said “Gbenga Ajayi and PTAD are hereby challenged to come to the open to adress and defend their illegality in the open and equally, we hereby request the supervising Minister/Ministry to talk on this issue. Also the Chairman, Salary and Wages Commission, should openly confirm the table that PTAD uses to pay pensioners, is it the table which emanated from the Salaries and Wages Commission. Surprisingly, this allegation that has been coming up in the press and media have not attracted attention of the agents that  fight against corruption or do they think illegal action do not involve a lot of money?”; he queried.

Against this backdrop, Odewabi said pensioners in their good numbers should all speak out now to make PTAD do the right thing. 

“Every pensioner should be put in the right level of payment, this is very necessary and important. The goverment is about to introduce new salary to the nation.If the new salary should come today, pensioners will be wrongly placed on salary level and scale. All pensioners should not stay back and see a bunch of sadist toy with their entitlement”, he said.

He cautioned PTAD and its workforce to remember that these pensioner have occupied positions higher than where they are not but did not match on anyone’s toes .

“Mr. Gbenga Ajayi is hereby advised not to thread in the terrain where he does not know much. PTAD is to remember that these pensioners are gurus and giants of different profession of which they give services to government, in their hay days. Some of PTAD staff are luliputance beside these pensioners. I wonder why Mr. Gbenga Ajayi should talk to the press denying that PTAD did not do their own table of payment discarding the legally and approved table of payment”

Commending the efforts of the pensioners in attending the meeting Odewabi said, “Fellow pensioners, I salute your courage for attending meetings of the association inspite of the hardship in the country. I know that Nigerian peensioners do not enjoy most facilities enjoyed in other climes like free transport, medical care, etc. 

“Every Nigerian that still maintains sense of reasoning knows that it is a fact that pensioners are vulnerable and should be cared for because of the economic situation including cost of living, feeding, medication, etc. It should not be that PTAD should be pinching out the meagre income of the pensioners”, he stated