Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate(PTAD) has commenced the first and second phases of verification for pensioners of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NiTEL) and its mobile subsidiary, MTEL, for the North Central Zone in Abuja.
The exercise which takes place on Monday at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church’s event Centre, Maitama, Abuja, would have over 4000 pensioners verified.
Sharon Ikeazor, executive secretary of PTAD, said that the number of pensioners for the exercise is about 600 persons everyday.
However, she noted, “but today, we have over 700 and we can only treat a minimum of 500 and 600 highest.
“We now ask them to come back the next day that is the exercise is opened for a week and when the whole exercise closes, they are free to walk into Lagos office or our Abuja office to get verified.”
According to Ikeazor, the exercise also took place in centres across Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, Gombe and Abuja.
The directorate stated that the verification would attend to retirees and next of kin of deceased pensioners.
Earlier in his remarks, Brig. Gen. Adekunle Adesope , director of Military Pension Board who led a team of from the military pension board to observe how PTAD conducts its pensions verification exercise, said that the arrangement is commendable.
Adesope noted that, “the way the pensioners are coordinated and being treated in various segments is good, particularly you have a section that is dedicated to sick pensioners. On what the military pension board is taking away from the PTAD verification exercise, the Director said, it’s just the arrangement.