Why we’re unable to pay pensioners on time —FG

THE Federal Government, on Thursday, said paucity of funds was responsible for its inability to pay pensioners on time.

It noted that half of the projected revenue in the 2017 budget was for salaries and pensions, while funds to pay were not available.

The position was made known by Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma and the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, during an interactive session with members of the House of Representatives at the plenary.

Udoma said to tackle the issue facing the pensioners, a committee headed by the finance minister had been set up to reconcile the actual figures, stressing that the government would have to look for ways to create funds and pay pension arrears.

According to Udoma, “I ask for your understanding. In the 2017 budget, about half of our total projected revenues are for salaries and pensions but the resources are not there.

“The president is extremely concerned about this. He observed the hearings that you had before and has directed that we must get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible and that committee headed by the minister of finance should meet with all the relevant agencies and reconcile numbers.”

Adeosun, while addressing the lawmakers, said the delay was as a result of paucity of funds, adding that pensioners could not access their consolidated funds if appropriation was less than what was accrued.

According to her, “this is a welcome initiative. The issue of pensions isn’t a money issue, it’s a people issue. This is not a Federal Government problem. There is also a problem in the states as most struggle with pension and gratuities.

“The law says that the pension can’t be consolidated before the holder of a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) can access retirement fund. They cannot access funds until government accrued pension rights and if appropriation is less than what is accrued, then we will have a problem

“The big issue is under-appropriation. I’m not sure it can be sorted out in one year, but it must be addressed,” she said.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, urged the executive to ensure that all backlog of pension payments were paid promptly, adding that no excuse would be accepted for failure to do so.

In a brief remarks after the ministers’ presentations, Dogara said he was confident of the promise made by President Muhammadu Buhari that issues surrounding non-payment of pensions to retired federal civil servants would be addressed with dispatch.

He recalled that when President Buhari made a promise to provide bailout funds to states for payment of backlog of salaries, he ensured it was done.

“We will not accept any excuse that leaves part of this pension funds hanging.

“I don’t know where you got the money to bail out the states from, wherever you got the money from, which is where we are going to get the money to solve this problem. And for the ministers who are representatives of the president, I believe you won’t make him (Buhari) break his words, because his words are cherished,” he said.