By Edward Cobham, Calabar   
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has commenced  verification and biometric capturing of civil service pensioners in the South States (Cross River and Akwa Ibom). In Cross River state over 1000 civil service pensioners are undergoing verification and biometric capturing. The exercise had successfully held in North East and South South States of Rivers and Bayelsa.

  The Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Directorate, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor during interactive session with journalists explained that the regular verification exercise was being carried out throughout the country to ensure regular payment of pensioners. She added that  the verification of pensioners would assist in identifying those pensioners who had problems with a view to rectifying them. “Those pensioners who could not attend due to health challenges would be attended to in their houses”

 The National President of Nigeria Union of pensioners, Dr Abel Afolayin commended the directorate for the exercise which he observed was conducted smoothly in many states and noted with happiness that federal and state pensioners with federal shares had been paid regularly. He however regretted that many states were owing pensioners for several months and appealed to such states to have pity on the old men and women and safe them from further hardship by paying them their entitlements

 PTAD had earlier concluded verification of Civil Service Pensioners from the North-West and South-East zones of the Country in 2015. As a follow up, pensioners in the North East States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba States were recently verified between 28th November and 6th December, 2016 and Borno and Yobe States were biometrically captured from January 18th to the 23rd, 2017.

 The South South States of Rivers and Bayelsa were also captured from the 16th to the 23rd of January, 2017 which jumpstarted  the verification of the South South States. The purpose of the verification exercise for all pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) was to establish accurate, credible, digitized database of pensioners, eliminate duplicate payments, ghost pensioners and regularize anomalies such as overpayments and underpayments.

 It also enables PTAD obtain relevant work records of pensioners to ensure accurate computation of pension payments and update of records of Next of Kins (NOKs) for payment of benefit and entitlement. Pensioners are expected to come along with the original and photocopies of their relevant retirement credentials for the upcoming exercise as sent to their National Union of Pensioners States.