The two-week verification exercise for Parastatal Pensioners by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) in the North West has ended with about 11,335 pensioners verified.

The exercise began on Monday, September 23, 2019 and was successfully concluded on Friday, October 4, 2019.

There were four centres located in Arewa House and Dakhole Angels Multipurpose Centre Kaduna, Marhaba Event Place, Kano, and Hidima Conference Centre, Bodinga Road, Sokoto.

The breakdown of the numbers verified shows Kaduna Centre 1 had the highest number of 4,073 followed by Kaduna Centre 2 with 3, 170 pensioners. Kano Centre had 2,739 and Sokoto Centre had 1,353.

The NASS members who were at the verification centres to monitor the exercise include the Senate Committee Chairman on Establishment and Public Service, Sen. Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano centre); Rt. Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, House Committee Chairman on Pensions ( Kano and Kaduna Centres); Sen. Mpigi Barinada, Dep. Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service (Kaduna Centre) and Hon. Bamidele Salam, Dep. Chairman, House committee on Pensions who was at the Sokoto Centre.

They gave PTAD excellent remarks and promised to support the Directorate with necessary appropriation.

The Executive Secretary, Dr. Chioma N. Ejikeme appreciated members of the National Assembly for their love for the senior citizens and support for PTAD while promising to continue to work with the National Assembly towards improving the welfare of pensioners.

She also thanked the staff for their commitment and the pensioners for their cooperation assuring that the upcoming verification exercise in the North Central will include all the feedback received during the North West verification exercise.

The next phase of the verification exercise is scheduled for Ilorin, Minna, Jos and Lokoja in the North Central zone from Monday, October 21, 2019.

PTAD advised Pensioners not to travel to the state they retired from to be verified as they can be verified in any of the centres in the zone where they currently reside.

According to PTAD, “They do not need to be anxious about being verified as the Directorate has the capacity to verify all pensioners who present themselves for the verification within the period slated for the exercise.

“The on-going exercise is strictly for Parastatal Pensioners and does not include Customs, Immigration, Prisons, Civil Service, Police pensioner and others that had already been verified by PTAD.”