*The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate explains the domain of the Federal Government鈥檚 GIFMIS financial management platform domiciled within the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is responsible for non-payment of pensions to Nigerian retirees

Emmanuel Akosile | 绿帽献妻

Nigeria’s Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has disclosed technological glitches are responsible for the non-payment of pensions to retired Federal Civil Servants in Lagos State.

Dr. Chioma Ejikeme, Executive Secretary of PTAD, who stated this development Thursday, June 16, 2022, while speaking on a Channels TV programme, monitored in Lagos, said the regulatory agency was working on resolving the delayed payments.

Mr. Abiodun Michael, Lagos State Secretary of the National Union of Pensioners, lamented that some pensioners were being owed up to nine months in the country.

Dr. Chioma Ejikeme, Executive Secretary of PTAD聽 聽Photo: Channels TV

Michael said: 鈥淢ost of these people, their money go into medicals. They are dying everyday. In a week, you will get four to five obituaries.鈥�

Dr. Ejikeme, however, insisted that the situation was not the fault of PTAD, but the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), in Abuja, FCT.

In regard to complaints by the pensioners, the PTAD Executive Secretary also stated: 鈥淲e send for reports from GIFMIS (Government Integrated Financial Management Information System) to get the payments that have been made.

鈥淪ometimes it takes a week, sometimes more. So, we have that lag in communication as to whether the payments we made failed or not.

鈥淎nd when we have such a situation, when the pensioner complains, we ask them to send us their statement of accounts, so that we can confirm that that payment didn鈥檛 go through.

鈥淚f he (Abiodun Michael) says 18,000 pensioners have not been paid, it means that PTAD has a bias for Lagos state pensioners. Why is it that the other pensioners from other states all over the federation are not making the same complaints?鈥�

She also noted: 鈥淭hese are pockets of complaints and we are addressing them. This is a system, it鈥檚 technology, there鈥檚 nothing we can do about it.

鈥淚 have apologised to the pensioners about the three-month arrears. We try to explain technology to our pensioners, but they don鈥檛 seem to understand.

鈥淲e are very happy to have EFCC and ICPC come look into what we are doing.

鈥淚t is not within our domain. It is within the domain of the GIFMIS platform. It is within the domain of the technology that is domiciled within the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.鈥�

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