Check-off dues: PTAD has done no wrong – NUP

Amid escalating tensions over the remittance of pensioners’ check-off dues, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) has mounted a strong defence of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), firmly rejecting allegations of fund diversion as baseless and misleading.

The dispute, which has drawn in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and is now before the courts, stems from claims by the Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria that PTAD breached established frameworks governing the remittance of union dues.

But speaking in a measured yet unequivocal tone, NUP National President, Godwin Abumisi, dismissed the allegations outright, insisting that due process has not been violated.

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“There is no way pensioners’ money would have been diverted—no way. There are no check-off dues that were diverted by PTAD to anybody. That did not happen,” he said.

Abumisi stressed that the remittance structure under scrutiny has been in place for over two decades, arguing that claims of sudden irregularities lack both historical and procedural basis.

“These are check-off dues that have been paid to the appropriate bodies for over 20 years. So there is no how, no way somebody will just wake up and say the money has been diverted. It doesn’t work like that,” he added.

While acknowledging the ongoing dispute, he noted that the matter is already undergoing institutional resolution.

“This issue is before the Ministry of Labour. We are waiting for a final decision. There is a process, and there will be deliberation,” he said, questioning the urgency with which the matter is being escalated publicly. “Why the rush? Why push this issue as if to force the situation?”

He warned that persistent allegations risk undermining the credibility of PTAD, suggesting that the agency is being unfairly targeted. “It appears there are attempts to drag PTAD into disrepute unnecessarily,” he said.

At the grassroots level, union leaders echoed similar sentiments, framing the dispute as one rooted in the constitutional right to freedom of association.

At the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital branch in Kaduna, an acting NUP chairman, Comrade Danladi Nok, said pensioners had, after decades of affiliation, formally withdrawn from a rival body and communicated their decision to the relevant authorities.

“We wrote to terminate our affiliation and made it clear we would no longer remit dues to them. In 2024, we reiterated this position in a meeting with the Executive Secretary,” he said.

He argued that the central issue is not administrative, but constitutional. “Nobody can be forced into any association. Every pensioner has the right to choose where to belong,” he stated.

Despite the dispute over remittance channels, he maintained that PTAD cannot be faulted where it acts on the expressed mandate of pensioners. “PTAD has not done anything wrong if it is sending our dues to NUP, because that is our chosen union,” he clarified.

Reinforcing this position, Secretary of the Ajaokuta Steel branch of NUP, Magbeyi Jamine, confirmed that the matter is already before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, describing it as a test of associational rights.

“This matter is in court, and it concerns our right to freedom of association. As far as we are concerned, PTAD has not done anything wrong. The claim of diversion is not correct,” he said.

Similarly, Kaduna-based NUP official, Emeka Aniche, grounded his defence in legal and procedural frameworks, insisting that the check-off dues system operates within established laws.

“The process is guided by law and laid-down procedures. What is being done follows due process, not diversion,” he stated.

He added that engagements with the Ministry of Labour have reaffirmed that the matter is being handled within institutional channels, while the courts remain the final arbiter.

“We went to court to defend our rights—especially our right to freedom of association and to determine where we belong,” he said.