Retirees Urge Extension Of Verification Exercise In Enugu

Pensioners in Enugu State have called on the Head of Service of the Federation to extend the ongoing verification of pensioners to accommodate the influx of retirees in the state.

Mr John Nebo, Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the state, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Enugu.

He said the call became necessary because retired workers from the state and its environs were registering in the state.

“We need an extension. We have already told our union in Abuja. The number of pensioners is underestimated because what we found out is that all federal workers that are not Enugu State workers, from everywhere are registering in Enugu and we don’t drive them away.

“It has sky-rocketed the number so much. Enugu State pensioners are at the most 4,000, but with the influx of these people, they are up to 7,000 now. ’’

He also said that the extension would enable the union and the pension verification team to visit sick and bed-ridden pensioners in line with their schedule.

The secretary also listed other challenges affecting the exercise to include a lack of electricity to power computers, shortage of seats and fans as well as slow process.

He said the generator and chairs used by the verification team from Abuja were provided by the retirees.

On the amount owed pensioners, Nebo said that all federal workers who retired since 2000 had not been paid their pensions, while those who retired since 1998 had not received their gratuity.

The secretary appealed to the government to pay pensioners promptly to lessen their suffering, especially during the verification.

Reacting to the development, the Coordinator of the Pension Taskforce, Mr Godwin  told newsmen the extension was necessary to afford the team ample time to complete the exercise.

He urged pensioners to take part in the verification exercise in any part of the country as the system was centralised.