Dikko

He said that the banks through which the fraudulent payments are made have been instructed to stop any further payment until the entire mess is cleared. He further informed Vanguard that the verification exercise of the existing pension is still on, adding that as at June there were about 824 unidentified pensioners whose pension payments have been stopped.

Atekoja explained that before now, about N350million was paid to retirees of the authority on a monthly basis, adding after the discovery, pension payment came down to N250million, noting that since the scam was discovered, the authority has being saving an average of N60million every month amounting to N720million annually.

The NPA executive director further explained that when he joined the NPA, the payment of pensions were in arrears, adding that after studying the authority’s pension scheme, a cash management system was put in place to ensure that pensions were paid as at when due.

“When I joined NPA, the pension were in arrears, I created a system in Skye Bank whereby pension payment became regular. If the authority does not have money to pay pensions, Skye bank has instruction to pay immediately. The system is called cash management system is to ensure that pensions are paid as at when due,” he stated.

Atekoja remarked that insider connivance on the scam could not be ruled out, adding that if it is discovered that serving members of staff are involved in the scam, they would be dealt with accordingly. He said that if need be, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) will be invited, to handle the matter.

Meanwhile, the Pensioners Welfare Association of the Nigerian Ports Authority has protested the non-payment of their approved increment in pension arrears over the last 8 years.