Revealed: How Ibadan Verification Exercise Traumatised Pensioners

 

 

It was traumatic for thousands of aged pensioners from Ogun and Oyo states civil services as they gathered for another verification exercise to ascertain their eligibility for pension under Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD.

 

Although officials of PTAD were gentle and humane with these old men and women who had used their productive years to serve their fatherland, most of them were frail and sickly. So, to some of them, the exercise was just to further compound their problems. Greater percentage of them have one health challenge or the other. Thanks to reliable children of some of the retirees who carried them in their arms like babies to the venue.

 

Most of them had developed apathy towards the whole process as they complained bitterly that since 2009 when they retired, the Federal Government is yet to pay their entitlements. Were it not for the kindness shown them by their wards, many of them would have died many years ago. No fewer than 13,000 retirees from Oyo and Ogun states participated in the six-day verification exercise. This was disclosed by Mrs. Olufunmilayo Onafowokan, Director, Pension Support Service, PTD, Abuja at the International Conference, University of Ibadan.

 

She said, “We hope that at the end of the exercise, we will verify about 13,000 pensioners. We have 8,000 pensioners from Oyo and 5,500 from Ogun State. We have five centres where this verification exercise is taking place. Three centres are here in Ibadan while two centres are in Abeokuta.

 

On challenges experienced in the course of the exercise, she said there were several pensioners rushing for the verification on the first day and officials of PTAD were able to  bring the situation under control.

 

Onafowokan said, “When we came on the first day, there were so many of them and that always happens when we have verification exercise. Many of the pensioners were not aware that the exercise would still extend to the next five days. The challenges we had was crowd control and we were able to manage it.”

 

Asked if there was any consideration for physically challenged pensioners, she responded that “PTAD has a dedicated section called the mobile verification team. We go to hospitals, villages and homes of pensioners who are bedridden. For pensioners who cannot move, their children would send us their photographs and documents and we go to them.

“The exercise is not continuing in perpetuity. We have done that of Ekiti, Ondo and Osun states. After here, we will move to Northern parts of the country. We will cover all the six geo-political zones of the country. On Wednesday, some physically challenged retirees struggled hard to get to the venue of the exercise. When speaking with some of the retirees, there were mixed reactions from them. While some described it as a “good exercise,” some complained that it was meant to compound their problems.

 

An octogenarian who refused to mention her name said as smooth as it appeared, “it’s an ordeal for me. At 84, it is not easy being tossed to and fro in the name of verification. As I am, I haven’t been paid since 2009. There’s nothing I can do than just to continue praying to my God to bless my children so that they can have enough to provide for me. I didn’t want to come, it was my children that encouraged me. If it takes too long for me, I will go back home. I’m already having some pains. It is my experience as a nurse that helped me. I didn’t eat anything so that I don’t have to be visiting rest room.”

 

Another pensioner, Mr. Olatunde Bolarinwa, who was led into the hall by his son, said as good as the exercise was, he saw it as a mere wasting of time. He sounded rather bitter probably because of his health challenge. “The exercise is good but, it seems to me that government is just wasting our time. We were here yesterday around 6:30am but they said we came too late. When we came back this morning, they said we should pick number.

 

A medical doctor, who was the Chief Surgeon in the old Western Region from 1968-1976 pleaded anonymity saying “people came here as early as 6am. Officials started from 7am to 7pm. I have nothing against them. They are polite and obliging, though I am okay, some people complained that the process is slow. The first day was hell. At the gate, so many elderly people were struggling to gain entry and this caused some commotion. But, at the end, things were brought under control. I think that the government should have found a much easier way to do this verification. I discovered they appear so thorough.”

 

Mrs Onafowokan allayed the fears of those retirees who would likely miss the verification exercise saying they can still do so in some of their offices across the two states.

 

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Via Vanguard