The Nigeria Union of Pen
sioners (NUP), has urged the Federal Government to create Ministry of Pension Affairs to handle and resolve challenges facing pensioners in the country.
The President of the Union, Dr Abel Afolayan, made the call at an event to commemorate the 2014 National Pensioners’ Day at the Labour House, Abuja.
Afolayan, who was represented by Dr Musa Ayuba, the Deputy National President of the union, said pensioners deserved to have a ministry that would work strictly on issues that affected them.
He said “there should be a Ministry of Pension Affairs with a minister who should be a pensioner and should be a respected and honourable person.”
The union boss said mismanagement and abuse of office had been affecting pension administration in the country, adding that such mismanagement should be investigated and the culprits brought to book.
He said “the media had published the pathetic stories of ghost pensioners and the billions of naira that went into illegal hands and the culprits were never brought to book.”
The pensioners’ president said Nigeria could join the MADRID International Plan of Action for the Aging by providing assistance to the elderly, the aged and senior citizens to guide against homelessness.
He said the establishment of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) had assisted the union in resolving immediate pressing problems of pensioners in the country.
According to him, there are more than 60,000 complaint forms submitted, more than 10,000 have been positively treated but that some problems need urgent government attention.
Afolayan then commended the Federal Government for the upward review of pension in the country.
He said that Section 173 of the 1999 Constitution recommended that “pension shall be reviewed every five years or together with any Federal Civil Service review,” adding, however, that “this had been denied the pensioners in a long while.”
He expressed concern that there were thousands of genuine pensioners who had not accessed their monthly pension since the introduction of e-payment in May 2009 till date.
He added that there were pensioners who were geometrically enrolled in June 2010 but issued with dud cheque.
Many pensioners who were paid in June 2010 during verification exercise were yet to be paid their July, August and September pensions.
He, however, said they had received their pension for October, November and December of the same year.