The Edo State government has said that it will commence the payment of pension arrears of retirees in ‘batch 40’ latest on Wednesday, January 24.
The government announced this in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary and Chairman, Pensions Bureau, Mr I.D. Juwobor, a copy of which was obtained by Channels Television on Sunday.
Juwobor said explained that the announcement was in continuation of the phased payment of pension arrears by the state government.
However, pensioners in batch 40 have been asked to present themselves for physical and documentary verification from Monday to Wednesday at the Imaguero School Hall in Benin City, the state capital.
According to the government, the exercise will also afford pensioners in batches 37, 38 and 39, who missed previous verification exercises, the opportunity to be screened and get their records taken to facilitate payment of their arrears.
“Affected pensioners are advised to check the list of pensioners in the batches at the office of the Head of Service on January 22 and 23, 2018.
“They are to come to the venue of the verification exercise with the following: pension authority, retirement letter, letter of first appointment, pension identity card, biometric slip and bank details including bank name and account number,” the Pensions Bureau chairman said.
Upon conclusion of the verification exercise, he said outstanding pension arrears would be credited to each pensioner’s account, “without delay after due process and documentation by relevant agencies involved in the payment process.”
The state government had opted for the phased payment of pension arrears after a reported backlog of about N10billion.
Imaguero, however, said the phased payment of the arrears has reduced the arrears by about N6billion, providing succour to pensioners whose arrears accrued from 1996 to 2000.
