Deplorable treatment of federal pensioners

Sir: I do not know why it has become the practice of the Federal Government to treat its pensioners with disdain, I write this because it has become the practice of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) to pay pensioners two or three days after the government pays serving federal workers their salary.

Serving civil servants were paid their August 2018 salaries only on September 2, 2018 while pensioners started receiving theirs from September 4, 2018.

This means that federal pensioners and civil servants did not celebrate Sallah with their August 2018 salaries or pensions.

I take this medium to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari because of his passion for timely payment of workers’ salaries and retirees’ pensions to look into payment of pensions by PTAD.

It is saddening that one has to add a voice to numerous articles written about PTAD delay in payment.

Whatever is the cause of the delay in payment of monthly pensions should be removed.

A solution to the delay may be that private pension fund administrators (PFAs) be allowed to manage both the old defined benefits and new contributory pension schemes in order to inject private sector efficiency as they have given a good account of themselves since their inception.

They even paid pensioners before the August Sallah holidays. May God continue to bless them!

It is callous and uncaring to make it a standard practice to carry over pension to the next month when workers and pensioners under the new contributory pension scheme have long received their salaries and pensions respectively.

President Buhari from the inception of his administration has ordered that workers and pensioners should be paid on the 25th of every month but PTAD and the Ministry of Finance that should release the money, keep flouting and thwarting this order, thereby sabotaging and frustrating the good intentions of Mr. President.

The Federal Government should alleviate the poverty in the land by timeously paying pensions.

Gloria Okolo wrote from Abuja.