ABUJA—WORRIED by the poor condition of retirees in the country, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has summoned Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; her Labour counterpart, Senator Chris Ngige, and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.
Also asked to appear before the House plenary is the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita.
They are to appear before the House to explain why those that served the country meritoriously were not paid their pension. Dogara, who disclosed this, yesterday, when the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, led by its President, Comrade Abel Afolayan, visited him in the office, said: “We will move the motion and pass the resolution tomorrow (today).
The ministers and the relevant officers must come to see us at plenary on live television next Thursday.
“We also invited key members of your union to attend the session and hear what the ministers will say. Let them come and take centrestage and tell Nigerians what can be done to get out of this situation.
“If it appears they have no solutions, then we will ask them for explanations. There has to be a position before we can all together go and meet with Mr. President over this very serious matter.”
Speaking earlier, National President of NUP, Dr. Afoloyan, said they came to the House as a last resort, having exhausted all avenues to get the government to pay pension benefits, adding that retirees had been subjected to hardship.
He said the 2017 liabilities for pensioners was “under-defined,” and that while the 2017 proposals was N302.4 billion, the executive’s submission was N109,123 billion, leaving a difference of N193.282 billion.
He said: “Regarding Contributory Pension Scheme, CBS, we have gathered the following facts and figures: a total of N91,914, 899,000.00 was requested for in 2016 federal government appropriation bill, but the National Assembly approved N50, 195,808, 918, resulting in a shortfall of N41, 719, 090, 082. 00.
“Out of N50, 195,808, 918 appropriated for 2016, only N18,823,428,342.00 had so far been released into Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption, RBBR. “Pensioners have become endangered species and prone to all kinds of diseases, which were age-related and needed money for treatment.’’
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