The Joint Committee of Associations of Federal Pensioners
last  Thursday in Abuja held a peaceful
demonstration to protest the non-payment of the arrears of its members.

Members of the committee staged the protest outside the
office of the Head of Service at the Federal Secretariat.

The pensioners, who defiled the rain, blocked major roads
leading to the secretariat, resulting in traffic gridlock around the area.

According to the pensioners, the demonstration will not stop
until the Federal Government meet their demands.

Earlier at a news conference, the Chairman of the committee,
Mr James Bassey, had told newsmen that some categories of pensioners had been
short-changed in the payment of their gratuity.

“Due to wrong calculations of their terminal benefits, using
wrong grade levels and steps, some pensioners have yet to be placed on the
monthly payroll for their pension allowances since leaving the service,’’
Bassey said.

Bassey quoted the Director-General of Budget Office of the
Federation as saying that funds had not been released to cover the payment of
increment in the allowances of pensioners.

Our correspondent recalls that President Goodluck Jonathan
in 2010 approved the upward review of allowances of pensioners by 53.4 per
cent.

Bassey also said that money for payment of arrears to
pensioners had not been released because they are waiting to clear ghost
pensioners from the pension payroll.

“We were told severally that the civil service is trying to
sort out the ghost workers in the service; it is not enough reason for the
delay in paying salaries and the Jonathan Award,’’ he said.

Bassey stressed the need for the government to sanitise
pension management and administration, adding that it would enhance the welfare
and well-being of pensioners in the country.

He called for the dissolution of the Pension Task Force,
saying that it had accumulated more problems for the pensioners instead of
solving them.

“We request for the dissolution of this pension task force
while immediate consideration is given for the creation of a civilian pensions
board.’’

Also speaking, Mr Ehada Mohammed, who represented the
General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Mr Actor Zal, said
the pensioners were only trying to ensure that their problem was addressed.

“We believe that what we are doing is the right thing and
this is the only way to address the issue so that we can recover our money fast
after all the delay.’’

Commenting on the issue in an interview, Mr Hassan Salihu,
Public Relations Officer of the Pension Reform Task Team, said the pensioners
did not contact the task force before embarking on the protest.

Salihu said that pensioners’ arrears were being paid in
batches after thorough vetting of their claims by the task team.

He said that all genuine pensioners would be paid as the
Federal Government had adequate funds to pay them.