BY OKEY NDIRIBE
Pensioners in the country have kicked against the proposed revalidation of their biometric data by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, HOS.

Speaking through the President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Alhaji Ali Abatcha in Abuja, the pensioners  said the only condition that would persuade them to shift their position was if all their subsisting complaints were addressed, saying that they had been subjected to many verification of biometric data in the past without getting prompt payment of their entitlements.

Alhaji Abatcha noted the union’s position at the beginning of a meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the union in Abuja.

He accused some banks of frustrating retirees from collecting their pensions and gratuities for the purpose of using pension funds lodged with them  to do business which  yield interest for them and their  collaborators.

Alhaji Abatcha alleged that some of the banks involved in the practice always resort to giving pensioners flimsy excuses to frustrate them from collecting their entitlements.

He stated that pensioners were entitled to N18, 000 as their minimum pension in line with the relevant labour laws on wages, salaries and pensions.

The NUP President noted that stoppage of monthly pensions of pensioners which began since e-payment was introduced in 2009 was one of the major challenges the senior citizens were presently facing.

According to him, other challenges faced by the pensioners were non-payment of gratuities of thousands of members of the union since 2000.

He expressed reservations about the performance of the Pension Reforms Task Team, PRTT, stressing that pensioners had lost confidence in the ability of the body as much had not been achieved since its inception.

According to Comrade Abatcha investigations by the union revealed that the irregularity in the payment of pensions was due to bureaucratic bottlenecks over the signing of mandates for payment associated with Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.

Speaking, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Abdulawaheed Omar, confirmed that pensioners were entitled a minimum pension which  must be the equivalent of the minimum wage.

Represented by Comrade Uche Ekwe, NLC’s Head of International Relations said the Federal Government had not yet approved the minimum pension for retirees in the country largely due to bureaucratic bottlenecks within the federal civil service.

Comrade Omar added that what was needed to compel the Federal Government to implement it was more pressure from the NLC.