The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has debunks payment of over 900 million naira into private account in three months as reported by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) on January 28th, 2024.
In a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communication of the Directorate in Abuja on Friday, stating categorically that the report is malicious, reeks of mischief and a blatant misrepresentation of facts.
The online feature by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) on January 28th, 2024 with the caption “EXPOSED: FG PAYS OVER N900 MILLION INTO PRIVATE ACCOUNTS IN 3MONTHS”.
Also, Under the subheading “MORE THAN N300 MILLION PAID INTO PRIVATE ACCOUNTS IN OCTOBER” wherein the FIJ stated that “different private individuals were the beneficiaries of these payments.
PTAD while denying this reporting made it known that the Directorate as wholly treasury -funded agency, pays over Nine Billion Naira (₦9bn) monthly into individual pension accounts of about two hundred and twenty thousand (220,000) pensioners of Federal Civil Service, Police, Customs, Immigration and Correctional Services.
Also, Treasury-Funded Parastatals as pension, and has continued to make sure that every pensioner receives their pension entitlements, like unpaid arrears, subject to the validation of their claims and availability of funds from the Federal Government.
It clearly noted that PTAD pays pension entitlements into individual pensioners’ accounts, and not corporate accounts or joint accounts, in line with extant pension laws.
Adding that the private individual accounts listed in the FIJ feature do not belong PTAD staff or any Government Official, but belong to verified pensioners from the Civil Service and Parastatals Pension Departments on PTAD database who after verification and re-validation of the pensioners’ career documents were paid their pension arrears for the period owed.
Explaining further, the Directorate said Mr Hyginus Ogbonnaya Olumba, who is a verified Civil Service Pension Department (CSPD) Pensioner currently receiving monthly pension paid N5,104,375.10 as accumulated pension arrears covering from 2007 till 2023.
Similarly, Mr. Osinowo Adekunle Olugbenro and Mrs Juliana Okwuchi Agbasiere both verified Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD) Pensioners currently receiving monthly pensions paid N5,135,442.58 and N6,031,907.68 respectively as accumulated pension arrears covering from 2020 till 2023.
Between the months of September and October 2023, the Directorate said it paid N846.1m and N1bn in accrued arrears to some pensioners of the Civil Service and Parastatals Pension Departments respectively.
It disclosed that this information can readily be found on PTAD website and various news platforms. “However, in line with the security, data and privacy protection, we don’t publish private details of our pensioners monthly pension or accumulated pension payments made to pensioners”, PTAD clearly said.
The Directorate pointed out that it is indeed obvious from the details provided in this feature, that the information published by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) is grossly misleading, malicious, and a misrepresentation of facts.
“It is indeed unfortunate that the online journal did not make any effort to get the opinion of PTAD in consonance with the tenets of balanced and fair reporting that true journalism entails. In their bid to be sensational, they have only succeeded in putting the security and lives of aged pensioners at risk”, PTAD said.
The Directorate enjoined all Pensioners, the Pensioners’ Union and all other related Stakeholders, including the media, to continue to work towards ensuring that the Defined Benefit Pension Scheme of Federal Government continues to benefit all eligible pensioners.
“In a fair and equitable manner as envisioned by the founding fathers that initiated the reforms of the Pension Sector that led to the establishment of PTAD and brought in the positive changes and outcomes that have been achieved over the last ten years”, the Directorate concluded.