The Federal Government has assured workers who were disengaged over the past 20 years that all verified outstanding entitlements owed to them will be fully paid.
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dasuki Arabi, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Gombe State during an ongoing verification exercise for former workers and beneficiaries in the North-East who were either underpaid or did not receive their full allowances and entitlements.
Arabi said no former staff member with a genuine claim would be left unpaid, stressing that the exercise was designed to identify and settle all legitimate outstanding claims.
“This is the final verification exercise. We want to bring this matter to an end and ensure that everyone who works and is entitled to payment receives his or her full entitlement,” he said.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu approved the final verification exercise to address the remaining complaints and claims over unpaid or underpaid entitlements.
He said the BPSR was collaborating with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Auditor-General for the Federation and relevant anti-corruption agencies to verify records and ensure that only genuine beneficiaries received payment.
Arabi said more than 99 per cent of cases brought against the government over unpaid entitlements had already been resolved.
He explained that some claims were being pursued on behalf of beneficiaries who had died, with their relatives or legal heirs seeking to recover outstanding payments owed to them.
The BPSR director-general urged affected former workers who had not received their entitlements or believed they had been underpaid to come forward and submit their complaints for verification.
He added that some former workers were also seeking reviews of their pensions, alleging that their retirement benefits did not accurately reflect their years of service and salaries earned before retirement.
Retirees Seek Pension Review
Chairman of Retirees at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Yusuf Adamu, said some affected workers had served for about 22 years under different salary structures before being transferred to the new system.
According to him, although some outstanding payments had been made, issues relating to the retirees’ pensions remained unresolved.
Adamu said some workers earned between N200,000 and N300,000 before retirement, but their current pension payments did not adequately reflect their final salary grades.
He appealed to the Federal Government to review the pension calculations and ensure that affected retirees receive benefits that accurately reflect their years of service and final earnings.
