Pensioners cry out over PENCOM’s failure to pay arrears

The Contributory Pension Union of Nigeria (CPUN) has urged the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to direct PENCOM to begin to pay one per cent check off dues djeductions from pensioners.

It also wants the above mentioned government establishments to direct PENCOM to pay her debts from 2007and 2010 accrued pension arrears of 33 and half percent and 15 percent over the last 17 and 11 years respectively.

The group also requested PENCOM to pay Consequential Pensions Adjustment (CPA) to all pensioners under the contributory pension scheme arising from the 18th April, 2019 federal government adjustments of salaries of workers.

President of the union, Chief Uche Ekpo, who made the appeal at CPUN’s first anniversary called on “key government stakeholders to seriously expedite action to eliminate bureaucratic challenges bedeviling the non implementation of the above requests by CPUN”, adding that “it is a wake-up call on the president’s of NLC, TUC and the media to do the needful.”

According to CPUN, PTAD had on May 26, 2021 paid 2 years to NUP members adding that PENCOM so far has no cogent reasons for nonpayment.

Ekpo also maintained that his members were dying on daily basis without their benefits, adding that the reason that Trade Union Act and laws of the federation predated establishment of PENCOM and CPUN registration respectively, was no longer a tenable excuse, calling for the application of the doctrine of necessity in the matter.

“Undue delay of payment of lump sum to pensioners should be stopped as delay is too dangerous in this circumstance.

“The refusal to meet with CPUN is a major concern and we ask PENCOM to be humble enough and open up discussion with CPUN officials, like most stakeholders have welcomed them in the union.”