STRONG indications emerged yesterday that heads may roll at the office of the Head of Service following allegations that part of the funds earmarked for the payment of pension funds in the country may have been diverted into private hands.
The Senate has also warned that if urgent solution was not found in the management of the pension scheme, it was capable of throwing the country into a serious crisis as it has become a time bomb.
This was made known to Journalists yesterday in Abuja by the Chairman, Senate joint Committee investigating the management of N700 billion pension fund, Senator Aloysius Etok while speaking on the Journey so far on the comprehensive Investigation of Pension payment, management and Administration of Pension Funds in Nigeria.
According to him, at the end of the Committee’s tour of all the geo-political zones of the country, the Committee would have to question the office of Head of Service to ascertain what happened to the funds.
Senator Etok who disclosed that the entire pension funds in the country has been put at N4.23 trillion, said that in the course of the Committee’s investigation in some of the states, it was discovered that many states owed their retirees billions of naira in pension arrears, thereby causing pains on them and their immediate families while many have died, adding that one state alone in the country was indebted to pensioners to the tune of about N10-15 billion.
Senator Etok, PDP Akwa Ibom North West and Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Services noted that out of the N24 billion for the Police Pension fund, only N3 billion was paid, even as he said that N21 billion Pension fund was traced to a Commercial Bank.
Flanked by Chairman, Senate Committee on States and Local Government, Senator Kabiru Gaya, Senator Etok said, “What we discovered on ground in respect to pension payment and management is a time bomb that we must address immediately or else when it explodes, it will be disastrous because we have had some states owing N8 to N10 billion for only state pension.
“If you include the local government pension, you realize some of the states are owing N14 to N15 billion. Therefore it is impossible that such states will be able to pay considering the fact that people are retiring every month and they are adding to that number. We have discovered that and we will look for a way to make sure that such arrears are cleared and to make sure we have a clean slate to commence the next phase of pension administration.”
‘’In Benue state we were told how they traced some amount especially funds which were to be paid to retired police officers as pension about N21 billion. Again we also discovered that a lot of more money have been traced to commercial banks which are meant to be paid as pension to retired officers while the retirees are roaming the street.
‘’We also realized that there are so many pensioners who have not been captured. They said the task force added more insults to injury by excluding more people.”
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