The Managing Director of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd. (NELML), Samuel Agbogun has said PHCN Workers’ Pension will be fully resolved once the talk between the workers’ union and federal government is concluded.

Doctor Agbogun said the federal government has budgeted N17 billion for the resolution of issues in the PHCN out of which 12 billion is for payment of pensioners, while N6 billion has already been released and with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

At a news conference in Abuja, the president of the electricity sector of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Temple Ubani confirmed that August pensions have already been paid to majority of pensioners under the old pension scheme and plans are underway to settle the remaining.

The NELML was set up solely for the management of the electricity pension and liability.

The mandate of the company is to resolve issues of liabilities of the company which is estimated at over N263 billion including N5 billion accumulated gratuity and pensions.

Part of the short and long term considerations for a permanent resolution of the pension issues in the PHCN is conducting a biometric verification of all staff and pensioners of the company and migration to the pensions to the head of service pension scheme or a pension administrator.

These will ensure that the budgeted sum is judiciously applied.

Other issues that are being considered by the electricity liability management limited are the reconciliation of assets and proceeds from sales of non-core assets, offsetting of liabilities and loans especially foreign and independent power producers among others.

But first, the liability management company says the impasse between the union and government must be resolved so that real work towards a lasting resolution can begin.