Pensioners of the Power Holding Company Of Nigeria (PHCN), have sent a passionate plea to the Federal Government to pay all their outstanding entitlements for the past twenty years before death decimates them.
In a letter addressed to the Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), the body ensaddled with payment of pensioners emoluments, the pensioners in their assemblage tagged 'Concerned PHCN Pensioners' earnestly implored government to pay their money now that they are still alive.
The Concerned PHCN Pensioners in their letter signed by their Coordinator, Comrade T. O Akintola and Secretary, Comrade S. A Adalumo, listed the accrued entitlements they are asking for to include the 33% Pensions Increased Award to PHCN Pensioners, Harmonization Arrears and Monetization Arrears.
Others are the Electricity Rebate Arrears and the Year 2000 Retirees Arrears.
The pensioners pleaded with the Federal Government to "please pay us our entitlements Now that we are still Alive to take care of our basic Normal needs (sic)" as some of them have already died.
Narrating, in their letter, the antecedents of their struggle for their entitlements, the Concerned PHCN Pensioners said they led a protest to PTAD, Lagos Liaison Office on January 25, 2018 where they were able to secure an assurance that they would be paid as soon as the 2018 National Budget is approved but that PTAD would carry out a Biometric Verification Exercise first.
The pensioners said they initially refused this PTAD stand because "most of our members are well advanced in age and some are bed ridden and it is their firm desire to use their hands to collect their long awaited Outstanding Benefits".
"However the pleas and assurances given by the directors (of PTAD) on the need to carry out the Biometric Verification Exercise before effecting payment and further assurance that for the dead, their benefits/claims will be paid over to their designated next of kin was reluctantly taken with trust most especially when we had been assured that the monies involved were already in possession of PTAD's management and it is in safe custody with the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN)", the letter noted.
The pensioners also noted in their letter that the removal of some pensioners' name from the payroll shortly after the Biometric Verification Exercise carried out between April 23 and November 23, 2019 without notice to the concerned pensioners who had earlier been issued Certificates of Clearance became a nightmare as " this led to some untimely death of some of our colleagues who were very sick and depended on their pensions as a lifeline".
The Concerned PHCN Pensioners begged PTAD to honor the 'voluntary promise to pay' given to them in good faith by paying these outstanding entitlements immediately since the money is already paid to PTAD by the Federal Government through approved National Budget.
The pensioners noted that "the beneficiaries of these claims/benefits are 80% well above 70 years of age" adding that most of them are always now entertaining the fear of death.
They pleaded that the money be paid now as many are also going through old age sicknesses, not strong financially with little or no assistance from families to take care of their routine medications.
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