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Tag: verification

  • Verification: Nurses decry insistence

    Verification: Nurses decry insistence

    Nurses under Nursing Group Administrators (NGA) has decried insistence by Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) for not backing down on requirements for nursing verification.

    This followed adjournment of the suit against NMCN over verification to July 12.

    NGA described it as a burden on practising nurses, noting the guidelines undermine their rights and prospects.

    Read Also: Tinubu orders review of tertiary institutions’ governing boards to reflect Federal Character

    Speaking in Lagos, representative, Edike Osemeke, said his colleagues demanded repeal of the policy.

    Osemeke, said the policy was arbitrary, not transparent and overlooked challenges facing nurses.

    The group called on NMCN to reverse the policy, engage in dialogue with their associations to “develop a more equitable, inclusive, and efficient verification to uphold the integrity of nursing practice.”

  • ASUU urges members to reject Fed Govt’s ‘dubious’ verification

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected Federal Government’s plan to verify its personnel in some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    The union described the plan as a forceful and dubious trap to enlist lecturers in the earlier rejected Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

    It also directed its members not to fill the “2019 Personnel Data Verification Form” being distributed by the Budget Office of the Federation for the verification.

    ASUU’s President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, stated the union’s position in a letter to chapter chairmen.

    A copy of the letter sent to the Chairman of the University of Ibadan (UI) chapter, Prof Deji Omole, directed members not to fill the personnel verification form, insisting that it is dubious.

    Ogunyemi noted that while the union was not against any verification, the form the government attached to it requires the supply of “IPPIS number, implying a dubious trap to forcefully migrate the union members into the IPPIS”.

    He added: “The attention of the leadership of the ASUU has been drawn to a circular from the Budget Office of the Federation directing members of our union to participate in a Personnel Verification Exercise designed for selected ministries, departments and agencies.

    “An item on the form requires the supply of ‘IPPIS number’. This suggests that the so-called exercise is a disguised way of bringing back the IPPIS, which our union rejected in the past with informed arguments.

    “All chairpersons are advised against falling into the trap of forceful migration to the IPPIS. All chairpersons are strongly advised to discourage their members from completing the form under reference until the union reviews its position on the IPPS.”

    On the directive, Omole said the current IPPIS programme does not accommodate the peculiarities of the job of university lecturers. The union leader noted that though the government promised to revisit the design of the IPPIS, it had refused to do anything since the union made its position known in 2014.

    “The current state of IPPIS cannot accommodate the peculiarities of our job as scholars. Members should equally recall that the union has been engaging the Federal Government with a view to making relevant authorities to appreciate the implications and position of ASUU on the matter since 2014.

    “Pending the resolution of the matter, evidence of which shall be communicated to all members, no member of the union is allowed to enlist in the IPPIS,” Omole added.

  • Verification for 9,000 pensioners

    Nine thousand Lagos State pensioners, under the Defined Benefit Scheme, otherwise called “Pay As you go”, are expected to participate in this year’s biometric verification organised by the Civil Service Pensions Office.

    The exercise will begin from Monday and end on December 14.

    A statement yesterday by the Civil Service Pensions Office spokesman Hassan Jamiu said the yearly biometric verification tagged “I’M ALIVE”, meant for pensioners in the old pension scheme, is designed to ascertain living pensioners.

    Jamiu added: “The initiative was put in place, ostensibly to eliminate ghost pensioners from the government payroll, block wastages and prevent fraud in pension administration.”

    Read also: Pensioners’ pictures of peril

    The verification centres are: Agege Local Government Secretariat, Agbado/ Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Secretariat, Igando /Ikotun LCDA Secretariat, Amuwo- Odofin Local Government Secretariat, Ikoyi /Obalende LCDA Secretariat, Lagos-Island Local Government Secretariat, Ijaiye/ Ojokoro LCDA Secretariat, Ikeja Local Government Secretariat, Kosofe Local Government Secretariat, Yaba LCDA Secretariat and Mushin Local Government Secretariat.

    Are Somolu Local Government Secretariat, Oshodi /Isolo Local Government Secretariat, Surulere Local Government Secretariat, Badagry Town Hall, Badagry, Ojo Local Government Secretariat, Epe Local Government Secretariat, Ibeju Lekki Local Government Secretariat, Imota LCDA Secretariat and Vocational Training Centre, Igbogbo.

    The statement quoted Establishments, Training and Pensions Commissioner Dr Akintola benson Oke as saying the centres were increased to 22 to ensure ease of verification.

     

  • PenCom begins verification of 2,700 retiring Fed Govt’s workers

    THE National Pension Commission (PenCom) yesterday began the verification and enrolment of over 2,700 employees of the Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from the Federal Capital Territory and Niger State that are treasury funded.

    Its Head, Corporate Communications, Peter Aghahowa, in a statement in Abuja, said the process, which is for payment of retirement benefits, also applies to those who have retired but were not enrolled.

    The statement reads: “The exercise is meant for employees in the service of the Federal Government, who are due to retire between January and December 2019 by virtue of attaining 60 years of age or 35 years in service, whichever is earlier or 65 years by age for employees of tertiary institutions or 70 years of age for professors.

    “Employees are requested to attend the enrolment exercise with the originals and copies of letter of appointment, evidence of transfer of service & acceptance where applicable, birth certificate/declaration of age, promotion letter and pay slip indicating grade level and step as at June, 2004, promotion letter and pay slip indicating grade level and step as at January 2007, promotion letter and pay slip indicating grade level and step as at July 2010, promotion letter and pay slip indicating grade level and step as at December 2013.

    “Other requirements for the enrolment exercise include letter of introduction from the MDAs, staff identity card, letter/evidence of retirement, where applicable, letter of indemnity from the MDA.”

  • LAUTECH workers for verification

    LAUTECH workers for verification

    Workers of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, will appear before a verification committee set up by the Governing Council to prove they are employees of the institution.

    A source in the council told The Nation that the exercise, which will tomorrow and Friday, was initiated to ensure that funds released by the owners – Osun and Oyo state governments – are judiciously utilised and not spent on ghost workers.

    The university’s wage bill is said to be “huge”.

    Initially, the workers’ unions, under the Joint Action Committee (JAC), kicked against the move and threatened to down tools.

    However, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Lekan Fadeyi, said the workers were not going on strike and had agreed to appear before the committee with some documents.

    “It is not true we want to go on strike.  In fact, a strike is far from our minds right now. We had a congress today (Tuesday) and it was unanimous that members of staff should appear before the committee.  It is a routine thing – nothing special. We were told by the Secretary of JAC what documents we should take to the screening.

    “They will check the employment letter and last promotion letter and your I.D. to show that you are a staff and you will get paid immediately.  Nobody is disagreeing on anything,” he said.

    Fadeyi added that students were writing their examinations and the institution preparing for the holidays.

    “A new session starts in January,” he said.

  • PTAD advises FHA, Delta Steel pensioners on verification

    PTAD advises FHA, Delta Steel pensioners on verification

    The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has urged the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and Delta Steel Company (DSC) pensioners to partake in the ongoing verification  in Lagos, Abuja and Delta State.

    The exercise is billed to end at the Lagos Centre today. The Delta Centre ends on Tuesday.

    The event, which started on Monday, is to enable it review the captured data to identify genuine pensioners, compute into the system and ascertain pension entitlements for payments.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor represented by the Assistant Director, Pension Admin, PTAD, Jibrin Idris made this known during the verification exercise in Lagos yesterday.

    He however said the turnout in Lagos for the exercise was not impressive, but he is optimistic that more people would show up before the end of the exercise.

    He said the essence of the verification is to identify genuine retirees of the two agencies, which are FHA and DSC, stressing that in the last verification, pensioners of NICON Insurance; New Nigeria Newspapers and Nigeria Reinsurance were verified.

  • Widow cries out: spare me painful pension verification

    Olori Yetunde Gbadebo, wife of the late Alake of Egba land, Oba Samuel Adeshina Gbadebo II, has urged the Federal Government to spare her the rigours of presenting herself for further verification before her pension could be paid.

    She said the Federal Government should put into consideration her “health and age” by making provisions for her and others in similar situations.

    The nonagenarian noted that it is better for her to be verified at home, instead of passing through “agonies” of queuing and waiting to be verified at designated locations.

    The retired educationist and former member of the Constituent Assembly addressed reporters during the Civil Service Pensioners verification conducted by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) on Abiola Way in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

    Over 2,000 pensioners, including Olori Gbadebo, were screened by PTAD at the centre.

    The verification ended on Saturday.

    Although Olori Gbadebo noted that the verification was less stressful than previous ones, she lamented the “pains” the aged pass through while waiting for screening.

    The nonagenarian expressed the fear that even if the outcome could lead to discovery of ghost pensioners or fraud, the perpetrators would still walk free , just as culprits of previous pension scam.

    She said: “This present verification is good and well-arranged and it is better than what we used to have in the past.

    “Today, pensioners’ interests are really considered and they have provided food and catered for welfare of pensioners. But people of my age and sick ones should be screened at home. There should be provision for that.”

    But the Head of the Department of PTAD’s Internal Audit, Adenusi James said frail pensioners, the sick or the bedridden were captured through PTAD’s Mobile Verification arrangement.

    He added: “We earlier sent messages through the pamphlets we distributed to those who fall into such category to forward their addresses and other details to enable us reach out to them.

    “Our special team actually went around and attended to nine of such pensioners, who responded to our message.”

    Adenusi said the verification aims at ensuring that only genuine pensioners are on the payroll of the government to ease their payment.

    He said: “The verification offers an opportunity to the pensioners to be screened and have their details kept permanently in our data base. That enables us to pay all their arrears and continue their monthly payments.

    “This new process was organised to rectify the numerous challenges associated with the previous processes before PTAD came on board.”

  • 45,312 pensioners for verification

    45,312 pensioners for verification

    •Osun, Ondo, Ekiti for first phase today

    The Pension Transitional Arrangement  Directorate (PTAD)  has said about 45,312 pensioners from the six states of the Southwest are expected to undergo verification from today in four centres.

    About 56,587 pensioners have so far been verified in four zones, representing 45 percent of pensioners to be verified by the agency with the aim of creating a quality data base of pensioners for easy administration and payment.

    The management of the agency said in a statement in Abuja that the exercise in the Southwest had been divided into two phases.  Osun, Ekiti and Ondo are coming in the first phase, which is expected to be monitored by the Executive Secretary, Mrs.  Sharon Ikeazor.

    During the five-day exercise, which is expected to end on Friday, about 4,054 pensioners are expected to be verified in Ondo State, 2,089 in Ekiti and 4,425 in Osun, while Lagos, Oyo and Ogun are expected to have 21,295, 7,917 and 5,535 respectively.

    The statement said through the ongoing verification, the agency has started the building of “a credible data base of Defined Benefit Scheme pensioners” which never existed.

  • Verification for number plate

    The Lagos State Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) has introduced a website for motorists and law enforcements agencies to confirm the authenticity of its number plates.
    General Manager Lateef Lawal said the innovation was in line with the Smart City initiative of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to revolutionise the system of operation.
    Lawal said the platform was to eradicate unnecessary harassment of some motorists by officials of the Nigerian Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other security agencies.
    He advised the public, FRSC and other security agencies to visit the MVAA’s website on www.lsmvaapvs.org to verify the authenticity of number plates issued by the agency.

    Lawal said the site was easy to navigate, adding that all the user needs to do is to log in, type in the number plate and wait for the confirmation of the details of the vehicle.
    The GM enjoined motorists to comply with driving rules and make sure that their vehicle particulars are up to date.

  • 200,000 N-Power employees for verification before deployment

    The 200,000 graduates offered jobs by the Federal Government under the N-Power Volunteer Corps (NPVC) will face physical verification before deployment in their areas of service, the Presidency said yesterday.

    Over 90 per cent of them have been verified using the Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Laolu Akande, warned that any untrue information submitted during the application process is a ground for disqualification.

    He said all states and the FCT through the focal persons appointed had received the list of the 200,000 employees. They are working on deploying beneficiaries in their places of assignment.

    He explained that by using the BVN which is one of the most viable means of identification in the country today, there is hardly a way anything fraudulent could sail through the process.

    “We are confident that the selection process, all the way through with the BVN, and physical verification at the points of deployment in the states and the local government areas, are both transparent and impossible to abhor ghost beneficiaries, or any kind of fraud,” he said.

    According to him, 93per cent of those selected have been screened through the BVN, with the commendable assistance of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, NIBSS, and only authentic and verifiable beneficiaries will be paid the N30,000 monthly stipends starting December.

    He said: “Besides the BVN, there is going to be physical verification, through an in-built component in our selection system that requires that information submitted online during the application would have to be authenticated at the point of deployment across the country, including verification of academic credentials and residence status.

    “Claims about some applicants claiming to be residents of states would be dealt with if it turns out such claims are false. If an applicant cannot supply proof of residence, the selection is terminated.

    “There is a good chance that some applicants may have failed to complete the forms online accurately. Such errors are being reviewed and anyone found not to be resident in the Local government would be removed and replaced using the waiting list of applicants.

    “An important aspect of the application was that applicants were told in clear terms that any false information would be grounds for disqualification.” he added