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  • Ambode assures retirees on prompt payment of pensions

    Ambode assures retirees on prompt payment of pensions

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State says his administration will be in the forefront of ensuring efficient and effective pension scheme administration to make life comfortable for retirees.

    Ambode, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, made the pledge at the 18th Retirement Benefit Bond Certificate Presentation Ceremony in Lagos on Thursday.

    He said that Lagos was the only state government that was up-to-date in pension contribution remittances.

    ”Our employees are our greatest assets and this is why we are not only committed to ensuring that they enjoy good conditions of service, but to also ensuring that their entitlements are paid promptly when they retire.

    ”We are aware that some parastatals have not fully complied with the provisions of the State Pension Reform Laws in terms of regular remittances of contributions into employees’ Retirement Savings Account.

    ”This will not be tolerated by this administration as the resultant effect of non-conformity is that many will retire without any provision made for the payment of their terminal entitlements.

    ”We are also aware that we still have backlog of retirees who are yet to receive their entitlements, especially at Local Governments and SUBEB.

    ”This administration is a people-oriented government. We understand that you have spent the better part of your lives in service of this state and you deserve to live in peace and comfort in retirement, ” he said.

    Ambode said that the government would ensure that retirees get paid their terminal entitlements as and when due.

    Also speaking, Mrs Folashade Onanuga, Director-General, Lagos State Pension Board, said that the gesture was a continued testimony of the successful administration by the state government.

    Onanuga said that the government had taken the bull by the horn by first releasing the sum of N11 billion to immediately bring succour to those retirees on the waiting list.

    ”It is your right to live in comfort at retirement, having utilised the better part of your active lives serving the state government.

    ”Today, a total sum of N2.2 billion has been paid into the Retirement Savings Account of 658 retirees. The rest of the fund will be paid accordingly to systematically clear the outstanding pension shortfall.

    ”This, in essence, brings the total number of retirees under the Lagos State Government Pension Scheme to 7, 099, ” she said.

    Onanuga also urged retirees and beneficiaries to spend their money wisely.

    In her remarks, Mrs Grace Uzoro of the National Pension Commission said that pension scheme was aimed at putting smiles on the faces of those who had laboured to serve the country.

    Uzoro commended the Lagos State Government for being at the forefront of championing the scheme.

    According to her, Lagos State has made Nigeria proud as the government is a government of action in terms of retirees’ welfare.

    Uzoro urged other state governments to emulate Lagos State to ensure their employees retire with peace of mind.

    Mr. Leo Onayemi, who spoke on behalf of the retirees, said that the gesture was unexpected as most of them thought they would never get their entitlements.

    ”It is a great day for all of us. Gov. Ambode has not spent up to four months in office and he has been able to achieve this.

    ”We will continue to support him in every way for making us reap the fruit of our labour, ” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 658 retirees were presented with the Retirement Benefit Bond Certificates.

    It would be recalled that on Aug. 5, Governor Ambode directed that pension cash assets in the sum of N11billion be immediately deployed to offset pension liabilities in arrears since year 2010.

     

  • Verification for retirees

    TO update the records of pensioners, the management of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, has conducted verification for the institution’s retirees under the Unified Pension and Gratuity Scheme.

    Speaking at the opening session of the exercise, the Rector, Dr. Mufutau Olatinwo, said the institution attached much importance to the well-being of her pensioners, and that that was the reason behind the establishment of a separate unit for Pension and Passages to attend to pensioners’ needs.

    The Rector, who spoke through his Deputy (Administration) Dr Ayodele Olaosebikan, said management had always ensured prompt payment of pension immediately workers were paid monthly salaries.

    Chairman of the Polytechnic Pensioners Association of Nigeria, Mr James Fabule, said there was no  fraud in the institution’s pension matters, noting that no pension arrears were being owed while all the backlog had been paid.

  • PenCom advises retirees on nominal roll challenges

    Absence of personal identification numbers (PINs) or incomplete and incorrect PINs, inconsistent format for date of appointment, date of exit, have been identified as challenges facing nominal roll for retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    Others are incorrect salary structure, grade levels or steps not in line with applicable salary structures and slow or batch submissions by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu who spoke at the ongoing 2015 Pre-Retirement workshop for Prospective Retirees in the CPS,  said submission of correct nominal roll and other relevant documents will translate into accurate computation and remittance of employees’ pension contributions.

    She stated that this will also eliminate the various complaints being made by employees and retirees of treasury-funded MDAs.

    According to her, part of the matters arising from this challenge is that employees and retirees whose MDAs are under the Integrated Payroll& Personnel Information System (IPPIS) should liaise with their MDAs regarding promotion after PenCom enrolment if promotion date is after date of joining IPPIS.

    She added that employees and retirees whose MDAs are yet to join the IPPIS should forward evidence of promotion to the PenCom

    She said the implication is that PenCom ceased to make monthly remittances of pension contributions into RSAs of employees of MDAs from the period of joining IPPIS.

    Employees of agencies not under IPPIS but whose parent ministries have joined should use the names of their agencies as their employers when completing their enrolment forms, she advised.

    She said prospective retiree are required to enroll and  after enrolment liaise with Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) within six months to retirement, supply PFA with official notice of retirement from employer, provide other documents required by the PFA, re-introduce or confirm beneficiary or next of kin to PFA before or at retirement and provide details of bank account for receiving retirement benefits.

    She enjoined them to also provide contact address after retirement, negotiate mode of withdrawal of benefits with PFA.

    On processes for retirement under the CPS, she said that for a prospective retiree to be qualified for retirement benefit under the CPS, he or she shall undergo the process of verification and enrolment exercise.

    She added that due to lack of adequate data of Federal Government employees the PenCom organises annual enrolment exercise to determine the accrued Pension Rights for federal government employees due for retirement in subsequent year for budgetary provision and ensure the settlement of their benefits as and when due.

  • Retirees seek qualified teachers in Lagos schools

    TWO  retiring teachers in Lagos State have urged the government to employed professional teachers to fill theh vacant positions in the teaching service.

    Mrs Odunewu and her colleague Mrs Dorothy Okoyeocha, who teach at the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Nursery and Primary School, Festac, spoke ahead of their retirement.

    The teachers, who converted their statutory three-month leave ahead of their retirement, said they had to convert their leave into working leave to fill the gap in the system.

    “For instance in  my school, we have five professional teachers as we had to use non-teaching staff to support too,” Mrs Odunewu said, adding: “Out of the five, two of us are retiring. Owing to lack of teachers, my partner and I turned our leave to working leave up till date because of the interest we have for the school.”

    Due to this development, Odunayo, who with Okoyeocha, held their  ‘Pencil Up’, a symbolic event usually held by retiring teachers after 35 years’ of meritorious service, is seeking from various governments recruitment of more professional teachers to enhance quality education delivery in Nigeria.

    Mrs Odunayo, who was retiring as the chief assistant director in the Lagos State Ministry of Education, described the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) a United Kingdom- an education initiative programme- as commendable, noting that a further boost in the supply of  professional hands could make ESSPIN achieve more successes.

    She admonished the Lagos State Governor Mr Akinwunmi Ambode to flood Lagos schools with qualified teachers, a promise he made during his governorship elections campaign.

    Although her sojourn as a teacher has been blissful, Odunewu recalled that her major challenge was her inability to give her best to her kids, especially when their attention was most needed.

    “Though there were many challenges, my kids come into view as when they were growing. I was not always there for them because I was trying to increase my knowledge but I thank God for helping me to cope.”

    Expressing her gratitude to God on her retirement, she said: ‘I give glory to God because much water has passed under the bridge. It is not by my making but by the grace of God that brought me to this day as I started this job in July 1980 at Badagry local government,” Odunewu recalled.

    According to her, she started on Level 4 as an educated teacher, and rose through the ranks to Level 16, the apex of her career and retiring as a Chief Assistant Director of Education.

    She thanked her colleagues for their cooperation despite that she is not from Lagos.

    Recalling some of her experiences, Odunewu cited her days as a sport teacher, noting that hard work and dedication earned her laurels.

    “As a sport teacher, I paid close attention to the organisation of sporting activities such that my pupils won laurels in several of the competitions they participated in,” she added.

    She advised pupils to continue to be good ambassadors of the school and to always depend on their ability to do well.

    Chairman of the occasion, Prince Julius Adegboye, who felicitated with the celebrant, was happy that one of his children also an alumnus of the school, is a manager at one of the notable banks in the country.

    Adegboye, a former chairman of the school’s Parent Forum, noted that his interest is still in the school because of his son’s success as an old student.

    He said,: “I don’t need to give the retiring teachers any advice anymore; in fact they are already out of the system. It is those that are coming behind them that I will advise to be patient and tolerant because the pupils they are controlling are toddlers unlike pupils in secondary schools.”

    “I rate teachers in primary schools than those in secondary schools because primary school pupils still need a lot of tolerance and so the teachers need to treat them like their own children,” he added.

    Mrs Okoyeocha expressed her gratitude to God for preserving her  during her 35 years’ sojourn in the taeching service.

  • SUBEB honours retirees

    SUBEB honours retirees

    Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs Gbolahan Daodu, has urged teachers to keep on discharging excellence in their duties regardless of appreciation from the public.

    She said this to newsmen at the send-off for former executive members of the board held at SUBEB multipurpose hall at Maryland, Ikeja.

    Mrs Daodu said: “I congratulate and appreciate them (teachers) and urge them to continue to strive to excel in their chosen career and make sure that all our children excel in the their various exams like the placement tests that are coming up in July.”

    She appreciated the retired board members for their contributions to the development of education in the state, noting that there is still room for improvement.

    “In spite of the fact that we still have a lot to do to make education be at the highest level in terms of quality, delivery, efficient and effective service, each person we are honouring here has contributed in no small measure to take us to the level we are today. So this is just a token of appreciation. We value the contributions they put in while they were here,” the SUBEB boss said.

    Giving the opening speech earlier, Director, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Board, Olawumi Gasper, an engineer, urged the present executives to build upon the achievements laid by the out-gone executives.

    “You have dedicated your time and resources to improving the quality of infrastructure, learning and the lives of Lagosians. We really appreciate what you have done. You have supported us through the ‘support our schools’ initiative. The private sector has come into our primary schools and we have seen improvements that are currently going on. I always refer to it as work in progress. They are all layers of block. You do your own bit, hand it over to somebody, add one or two more blocks and then you have a building. We do not expect board members serving four or five years to finish all the work,” he said.

    The Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, urged the retirees to act as consultants to the present administration.

    She said: “They should write books so that those coming behind would learn from their experiences. Experience is not something you go to the market to buy. It is something that you acquire. They should continue to be there for us as consultants each time we need them, give us words of advice and just be there for us.”

    Reminiscing on their experiences, the retired board members advised the present administration to unite and remain focused on the priorities of education in the state.

    One of the retirees, Mrs Modupeola David, advised them to work together in order not to lose the confidence placed on them by the state .

    Retired permanent secretary and board member, Otunba Ayo Obajinmi, said: “Ensure that you do not rock the boat, do not allow personal involvement to overshadow the main objective of the board. The priority should be what is best for Lagos State, what is best for the future of Nigeria, which are those little children in primary school.”

     

  • Retirees as endangered species

    SIR: I only heard about the miserable lives or avoidable deaths of many of retirees from government service until I had the first time experience of the last days of my uncle, Samuel Ademola Ojo. He worked as a teacher in many primary schools in Oyo and rose to become a headmaster before he retired in 2011. He was about 60 years old when he retired. By then, he had two children in the university, one in NCE and one in secondary school. He waited for his gratuity for almost five years to no avail. However, his pension was paid skeletally.

    Whenever I called him to enquire about his wellbeing, it was always lamentation about government’s inability to pay his gratuity. There is no doubt that somebody with no source of sustenance will be miserable, particularly when one could not provide for the needs of his family. I heard that he later developed hypertension and later a partial stroke. He died on Friday, May 17.

    He served his fatherland for a whooping 35years, but corrupt and inhuman system denied him the fruits of his labour! How many retirees have died unsung? With the miserable end of many of our retirees, how can we curb corruption amongst our civil servants? As a matter of fact, Nigeria is still fortunate to find people who still join her civil service; this is because no one will like to work for the nation when one considers the miserable condition and avoidable deaths of many senior but unfortunate citizens.

    I appeal to the governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi to please find other means to ameliorate the effect of hard times on our retirees. He has made his marks in Oyo State; I think putting smile on the face of our retirees will enable them to enjoy their old ages and fruits of their labour. A situation where those who have access to the corridors of power find it easy to collect their gratuity while many in my uncle’s shoes, who have nobody, found it difficult to get theirs, years after retirement, is not only inhuman but a crime against humanity. A mechanism ought to be evolved which would make verification, accreditation and payment of gratuity and pension easier and less cumbersome. The agonies they are subjected to during accreditation often led to avoidable deaths. These are senior citizens who should be accorded respect due to their status, but unfortunately Nigeria is a country where Hobbesian state of nature is still in vogue.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.  

  • PenOp pays N260b to retirees

    PenOp pays N260b to retirees

    • Urges more firms into scheme

    The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) said its members, through the scheme,  has paid N260 billion to retirees since it was inaugurated over a decade ago.

    It, therefore, urged organisations that have still not joined the scheme to do so in the interest of the future of their workers.

    Its Executive Secretary, Susan Oranye, who spoke during this year’s May Day celebration at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos, said the essence of PenOp’s involvement in the May Day celebration was to celebrate the Nigerian workers, celebrate the hard work that Nigerians go through every day and to encourage them to prepare for the future.

    She said:  “The contributory pension scheme, which has existed for about 11 years, has recorded successes. About N260billion has been paid to retirees from inception to March 20 this year. As at last year, we had 5.5million contributors in the contributory pension scheme, it has gone up by 6.4 and we have just ended the first quarter.

    “As you are work very hard today, you must remember that there will be a time when you can’t work as hard as you work today. When you retire and your salary stops coming in, you will still need to cater for some other needs. That is the essence of having a pension.”

    She further explained that it is eight per cent of the worker’s basic salary, housing and transport and the employer is required and employers are to match it with 10 per cent of that same emolument and that goes into employee’s account.

    Oranye noted that the informal sector contributes to the bulk of the Nigerian economy which cannot be ignored adding that there has to be a framework that caters for the uniqueness of the sector.

    She assured that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and PenOp are collaborating and working very hard on a framework that will accommodate the informal sector, so that everybody that works will have the opportunity to set up a retirement savings account. The framework is being discussed among the operators, stakeholders and the PenCom.

    Speaking on the compliance rate, she said: “The population of Nigeria is approximately 172million people and half of this makeup the working population, which is 80million people, with 6.4 currently in the contributory pension scheme. This she said is a huge success.

    “In the Pension Reform Act 2014, compliance is a major issue. Employers are demanded by the law to set up retirement savings account for their employees and make sure they remit. For those employers who do not comply, the National Pension Commission has recovery agents that will track them down.  Any employer who does not comply will be held liable by the law,” she added.

    Oranye however said there are still so many people who need to be educated, not just about pension but about financial literacy and PenOp is actively involved in seeing that people are educated.

    “We are also involved in the National Financial Inclusion System, where we are trying to increase the level of financial literacy across the country and it is our core responsibility to raise the awareness. We arrange forums with the media and employers in different locations to get people educated and let them know what it is all about,” she said.

    PenOp  provides financial security in retirement, is of the view that employees deserve to be looked after and for the employees to be productive enough to grow the business, the employer has to put their future and wellbeing into consideration by providing the employees with their pension.

  • Lagos retirees get N1.5b today

    To ensure that workers in Lagos State have a better and fulfilling life after retirement, its government will today pay another set of 234 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), a sum of N1.547 billion, Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission, Rotimi Adekunle Hussain, has said.

    According to him, the payment is to be made for their past service prior to the commencement of the CPS in 2007 in the state.

    Hussain, who made this known to reporters, said the retirees would be receiving their retirement benefits during the 15th Retirement Bond Certificates presentation, which held yesterday at the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) auditorium in Lagos.

    He added that today’s ceremony is coming up in a space of one month after the 14th presentation that held in November.

    The LASPEC boss recalled that as at the 14th Bond Certificates presentation held in November this year, a total of 5,530 retirees had been paid a total sum of N28.93 billion.

    He stressed that Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration, has since the adoption of the CPS in 2007, taken it as a duty and utmost importance to always organise the ceremony to present the retirees with their retirement benefits.

    He said the retirees are presently enjoying their retirement benefits under the scheme without any rancor or stress, noting that this is in a clear affirmation of the state’s commitment to the welfare of its workforce.

  • Lagos retirees to get N1.7b under CPS

    Lagos retirees to get N1.7b under CPS

    In fulfillment of its cherished commitment to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS),  the Lagos State Government will be paying over N1.7 billion to another set of 319 retirees, Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission, Rotimi Hussain has said.

    He made this known in a statement signed by the Press and Public Relations Officer, Taofeek Lawal and made available to journalists in Lagos.

    He said the beneficiaries would be collecting the money which represents their past service benefits before the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme in April, 2007 during the 14th Retirement Bond Certificate presentation ceremony.

    Hussein noted that the ceremony was specially designed by the Lagos State Government to celebrate and express appreciation to its retirees for showing great commitment and dedication to the service of the state while still in service.

    ‘’This is regularly done in fulfillment of Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola administration’s uncompromising commitment at ensuring that every worker who retires from the State Public Service gets his or her retirement benefits with relative ease,’’ he said.

    The state government has paid a total sum of N27.1 as at the 13th Retirement Bond Certificate presentation in September of this year.

  • PHCN retirees beg for pensions

    PHCN retirees beg for pensions

    RETIREES of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to alleviate their sufferings by paying up their outstanding four- month pension.

    Mr. Taiwo Idris and Malam Nuhu Abdullahi, who spoke on behalf of their colleagues, said their families were going through very hard times because they can hardly meet up their obligations.

    They said they were promised payment by those responsible for the pension but lamented actions have not been matched with words till date.

    “The Federal Government and officials in charge of the pension should come to our aid. This is our entitlement and we need it to meet up with our family commitments.

    “We are asking the authorities to respond to the voice of reasoning because staging protests will not solve the problem and we are not even ready for that in the first place,” the retirees added.

    They expressed dismay over what they described as nonchalance and lack of concern by the appropriate authorities, stating that they were being held to ransom.

    They recalled that newspapers have reported that arrangements had been completed for the payment of June, July, August and September 2014 pensions, wondering why nothing has so far been paid.