Kaduna—The National Teachers’ Institute, NTI, yesterday, said it had cleared the backlog of retirement benefits from 2004-2010 and granted soft loans to widows of deceased staff.

Director-General of the institute, Dr. Ladan Sharehu, who revealed this at a two-day retreat with Pension fund administrators in Minna, Niger State, said as at December 2009, the institute owed old pensioners 48 months pension arrears but had paid the arrears in 2011 and subsequently commenced payment of monthly pensions from June 2011.

The retreat which was organised by the Institute’s Pension Board of Trustees, BOTs, in collaboration with SAABRA Nigeria Limited, according to the D-G is aimed at enabling the BOTs and NTI Pensions Unit staff to further enhance their funds management techniques, adding that the Institute under his administration paid pensioners allowances before the end of every month.

Sharehu said the retreat would serve as a guide to the board of trustees to prepare staff for retirement and commended the Federal Government for making it possible for the Institute to  achieve this laudable 100 per cent pension backlog free-status.