Matthew Otoijagha
The Edo State Government has invited pensioners in batches 43 and 44 for physical and documentary verification in order to process payment of their pension arrears.
Governor Godwin Obaseki, in his Workers’ Day address, had approved the sum of N1.5billion from the Paris Fund refund to defray outstanding pension arrears, which accumulated for a period of 20 years.
In a statement, Permanent Secretary and Chairman, Pension Bureau, I.D. S. Juwobor, said the exercise was in continuation of payment of pension arrears by the state government, as the affected pensioners would be paid their arrears after the exercise.
According to him, “In continuation of the on-going payment of pension arrears for State Government pensioners, all pensioners in batches 43 and 44 are hereby invited to present themselves for physical and documentary verification at the Imaguero Hall, Benin City, on Thursday, May 24 and Friday 25 May, at 9:00am each day.’’
He urged pensioners in batches 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41, who failed to participate in the previous verification exercises to “take advantage of the scheduled forthcoming screening exercise alongside pensioners in batches 43 and 44.”
He added, “In furtherance of this, affected pensioners are advised to: check the list of pensioners in the batches indicated above at the office of the Head of Service on Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd May, 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.
“Upon conclusion of the verification exercise, the outstanding pension arrears will be credited into the pension account of each pensioner after due documentation by relevant agencies involved in the payment process.”