By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
Pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in Nigeria have been urged to remain patient, as the payment of their long-awaited arrears is now closer than ever.
The National Chairman of the National Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme (NUPCPS), Comrade Sylvia Nwaiwu, disclosed this on Thursday in an online broadcast to members across the country.
He assured members that the process of paying the bonds was progressing well and had been further fast-tracked.
“So far so good, the process of the bonds is absolutely in our favour and it is processing well,” he said.
Nwaiwu further urged members to disregard speculation that the bond payment was a deceit, stressing that the present administration was determined to settle the allowances.
According to him, the payment must follow due process before members can be credited, and this requires time.
Explaining the procedures, the national chairman said:
“There is a difference between approval of funds and approval of bonds. When funds are approved, you wait for the approval of the funds. But when bonds are approved for any project by government, the first process is to get it translated to funds.
It takes process because the bonds would have to go to the market where these bonds are bought by individuals and organizations and this has a period of maturity.
“But in our own case, the process is being fast-tracked. It is not delayed in any way. “Everything is on track and devoid of deceit. We are closer to the payment day than ever.”
On when the payment will actually commence, Nwaiwu explained that it was beyond the control of the union and PENCOM.
“The truth is that the implementation of the payment process will commence any moment from now,” he added.
He revealed that the leadership of the union had begun the process of meeting with PENCOM management to agree on the template and modalities for disbursement.
This, he explained, was based on a standing agreement with the commission, following the the payment of the 2.5 percent employer differential without the union’s consent, insisting that any further payment by the federal government must have the union’s input.
The national chairman, who emphasized that under the CPS structure, all pension funds must pass through the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) before reaching beneficiaries, assured members that none would be shortchanged.
He added that the union was working closely with PENCOM to ensure fairness in payment of the bonds, pointing out that CPS retirees were also entitled to the ₦32,000 payment, which had been subsumed into the ₦758 billion bond currently being processed by the Debt Management Office (DMO).
On whether pensioners under annuity would benefit from the payments, Nwaiwu answered in the affirmative.
He said: “Provided that such annuitant has the right under the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) before the commencement of CPS in 2004.”
