By Isaac Mission
The Federal Government has assured workers who were disengaged from public service over the past two decades that all verified outstanding entitlements owed to them will be fully paid.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dasuki Arabi, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Gombe State during an ongoing verification exercise for former workers and beneficiaries in the North-East who were either underpaid or had not received their complete allowances and other entitlements.
Arabi said the government was determined to ensure that no genuine beneficiary was left without payment.
He described the exercise as the final phase of the verification process, noting that its primary objective was to identify legitimate claims and resolve outstanding complaints.
«“This is the final verification exercise. We want to bring this matter to an end and ensure that everyone who worked and is entitled to payment receives his or her full entitlement,” Arabi said.»
According to him, President Bola Tinubu has approved the exercise as part of efforts to settle the remaining claims and complaints involving former government employees.
The BPSR Director-General said the bureau was collaborating with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Auditor-General for the Federation and relevant anti-corruption agencies to authenticate records and ensure that payments were made only to genuine beneficiaries.
He disclosed that more than 99 per cent of cases filed against the government over unpaid entitlements had already been resolved.
Arabi also revealed that some outstanding claims were being pursued on behalf of former workers who had died, with their relatives or legally recognised heirs seeking to recover the funds owed to them.
He therefore urged former workers and beneficiaries who believed they had been underpaid or had not received their entitlements to come forward and submit their complaints for verification.
The BPSR chief further disclosed that some retirees had requested a review of their pension payments, arguing that their retirement benefits did not accurately reflect their years of service and salaries earned before retirement.
Speaking on behalf of retirees at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, the chairman, Yusuf Adamu, said some affected workers had spent as many as 22 years in service.
Adamu explained that the workers operated under different salary structures before the introduction of a new structure. While some outstanding payments had been made, he said their pension-related issues remained unresolved.
He noted that some retirees earned between N200,000 and N300,000 before retirement but were currently receiving pensions that did not adequately reflect their final salary grades.
Adamu appealed to the Federal Government to review the affected cases and ensure that pensions were properly calculated based on the retirees’ years of service and the salary structures applicable at the time of their retirement.
The verification exercise is expected to help the government establish the legitimacy of outstanding claims and facilitate the payment of verified entitlements to affected former workers and their beneficiaries.
