The Edo State Government has explained how its resolve to pay all outstanding pensions and gratuities through a “phased approach” will address the welfare of pensioners in the state
The government said it has embarked on a holistic strategy to address pensioners’ welfare since Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration came on board and to reduce the debt burden on the state.
A statement issued on Monday in Benin City by the government said though dwindling crude production and oil prices affected revenue accruing to it from the Federal Government, it has prioritised the plight of pensioners in the face of competing needs in the different sectors of the state.
It said it has been faithful to the purpose of the Paris Club refund, which was disbursed to states for clearing salary, pension, and gratuity arrears.
The state government, however, said it “is not and cannot be sufficient to settle pension arrears that have accumulated for over 20 years. The Paris Club refund is not restricted to payment of pension arrears and gratuities, but for employees’ emoluments.”
It further dismissed reports that government owed pension arrears of up to 42 months and described such as “false and misinterpretation of facts”.
The government explained that only a few pensioners were owed multiple months of arrears, most of whom they said were captured under the Local Government Pension Board, an institution that is autonomous and independent of the Edo State Pension Bureau.
Part of the statement read: “Matters concerning local government pensioners are separately handled by the local government pension board. Up to this moment, retirees in the local government service fall within the jurisdiction of the local government pension board.
“Be that as it may, the issues raised by the protesting pensioners of the local government service are better tackled by the local government pension board. Under the Edo State Contributory Pension Scheme Law, there is a unitary pension bureau that will take charge of both the state civil service and the local government civil service staff.
“When the Edo State Pension Bureau becomes fully operational, after inspection and certification by the National Pension Commission, it will take over the functions of the local government pension board. This would be done after the commission conducts due diligence on the state of affairs of the board’s pension liabilities and current pension and gratuity payment status.”
According to the state government, some of the measures put in place include phased payment of arrears, harmonising pension management system in the state, and migration of state to the contributory scheme.
It restated its resolve to “pay, in phases, all outstanding pension arrear, and gratuities, as well as ensure that retiring civil servants process their papers on time so that they can effortlessly transit from their salary payroll into pension payroll at the exact time of their exit from the civil service.”
“This singular step, if carried through without default of the retiring staff and relevant authorities saddled with the processing of retirees’ documents, will eliminate the incidence of accumulation of pension arrears.”
On efforts made to harmonise pension management in the state, the government said “We have put up measures to consolidate and pursue the implementation of the contributory pension scheme.”
“In fact, all necessary requirements to ensure a hitch-free payment of retirement benefits to civil servants who transited from the defined benefit scheme into the contributory pension scheme regulated by the pension commission have been met by the state government.”
The government asked the senior citizens to exercise patience as the phased payment of the arrears takes its due course.
It also assuring them that measures have been put in place to ensure that the present issues don’t arise after it has been addressed in the state.
