NIGERIA AND ITS ‘RETIREMENT HELL’ FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS
May 14, 2021 | News
Call it man’s ‘deliberate’ wickedness to his fellow man, or man’s inhumanity to others; you would be correct, in describing how past and present Federal and State Governments in Nigeria have treated, and are still treating retired Pensioners from the public space.
-By Zik Gbemre
NIGERIA AND ITS ‘RETIREMENT HELL’ FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS
While most Nigerian former State Governors receive as much as Three Times their former salaries as pensions, plus other outrageous bonuses… the rest of Nigerian workers who put in 30 to 35 years of their lives as active service, and who do not even get to be paid three quarter of what the former Governors get, are still owed their meagre pensions for years unending…
An Interesting Investigative report by BBC Africa has exposed and thrown more light on this evil in Nigeria…
There are more fake pensioners than real ones in the country’s pension system, which are apparently engineered by top Government officials to defraud real pensioners…
So many Nigerian former Governors are doing what we call DOUBLE DEEPING…
Call it man’s ‘deliberate’ wickedness to his fellow man, or man’s inhumanity to others; you would be correct, in describing how past and present Federal and State Governments in Nigeria have treated, and are still treating retired Pensioners from the public space. From retired Teachers, Nurses and Police Officers, the story of their lives after retirement has been that of hell and sadness, just to get what they are legally entitled to as pensions from the Government.
What baffles me in all of this is that, while most Nigerian former State Governors receive as much as Three Times their former salaries as pensions, plus other outrageous bonuses and allowances they still enjoy after leaving office, which is always paid without delays, however, the rest of Nigerian workers who put in as much as 30 to 35 years of their lives as active service, who do not even get to be paid three-quarters of what the former Governors get, are still owed their meagre pensions for years unending. And I have written consistently on this complaint, expressing why, and how can supposed Federal State Governments not prioritize the prompt and consistent ‘entitled payment’ of gratuities of its men and women who have retired from active public service? For instance, how can Police Officers in the country, sacrificially put in 35 years of their lives and sweats, yet their gratuities are deliberately delayed, underpaid, or not paid at all until they eventually get sent to an early grave?
I am however glad that this problem is beginning to draw the attention of the international community. I am sure some of us have seen the short video on social media platforms by BBC Africa, which exposed this evil experienced by Nigerian pensioners, through an investigative report by Yemisi Adegoke, in what she tagged: Retirement Hell. The BBC Africa reporter wanted to find out why some of our Nigerian elders are having to fight for what is legally theirs.
According to Adegoke: “When you pay into a pension scheme your entire life, you expect to get paid when you retire. Across Nigeria, many elderly people are being denied their state pensions for bizarre reasons. They are expected to pay officials to initiate their pensions. While others are raking it in… Every year in Nigeria, thousands of Nurses, Teachers and other government workers retire, expecting to swap their salary for a pension to support them in old age. Margaret Akpet was a healthcare worker for 27 years, and paid into the pension plan. When retired last year August, her pension payments never came through. When she reached out to the pension office. She was told to pay money to get her papers moving, which she did. But nothing happened. Her son, Obaji, who has been supporting her financially, agreed to secretly film any further interactions he had with the pension’s office on her behalf.
“He arranged a meeting with an official called Angela Effa. She described their meeting as a visit to a temple and she wanted an offering. In her words in the secret filming: “Here na shrine, them de call this place shrine, and you know say when you go to shrine you go must drop something.” No one actually uses the word bribe but it seems that payment is expected. Payment to a government worker whose job it is to pay out pensions. Obaji does what he is expected to do, by giving the woman N5,000. She appreciated the bribe offering and said he has done well.
“We have heard similar stories of pensions corruption at all levels and across Nigeria. And in fact, in 2019, 400 billion naira was owed to pensioners across the country. We then heard of other retirees that are being denied their money. I met a man who is dead, according to the state. “You need to be screened to confirm that you are alive and you are not dead. I said ok, we are ready. When Ogah Gabriel retired from teaching in 2000, he received his pension regularly until 2020 when it suddenly stopped. Cross Rivers State had decided, Mr. Gabriel, like over 1000 other people in the state, either didn’t exist or were dead. To get his pension, he’d have to convince the Auditor-General, Mrs. Franka Inok, that he was alive. One reason he was confident it would be easy to prove he was alive, was because he had known the Auditor-General since she was a little girl. According to him, the Auditor-General was furious that he had tried to use the personal relationships to advance his case, and she demanded an apology before reconsidering his application. We heard stories like this over and over again.
“All across the State, pensioners, old, sick and out of money, waiting for the Auditor-General. Eventually, they had enough and on the 3rd of Nov, 2020, they started a protest. So, where does this issue originate? Fake or ghost pensioners are a real problem in Nigeria and the adding of fictitious names to the payroll is one of the ways that money is stolen from government funds. SOMETIMES, THERE ARE MORE FAKE PENSIONERS THAN REAL ONES. A state, that cannot have more than 3,000 or 4,000 pensioners, has 10,000.
“Jerry Unah is a finance and business Journalist, familiar with the problem of pension fraud, but he doesn’t think the culprits are ordinary people like Mr. Ogah. According to Ogah: “Somebody will add names of non-existent pensioners. They will pay those ghost pensioners immediately, and the money goes into their pockets. IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT A CLERK CAN DO BECAUSE IT WOULD BE DISCOVERED. When trying to eliminate ghost pensioners, it shouldn’t take weeks, months or years, to work out who is alive and who isn’t. Last October, a list was published with over 300 names of people declared dead, and as a result their pension payments that stopped. According to a community leader, Patrick Nsoja, “99% of the persons in that list are still alive.” And he took the BBC reporter to meet with some of those on the list of supposed dead people. One of them is Mr. Cletus who stopped getting his pension in June last year. When asked, how he has been surviving, he said he has been managing with his small farm: “My children, I have stopped them from school because I have no money.” He has been to the pension’s office in Calabar five times. It’s about a day’s journey, and he has nowhere to stay the night when he goes, so he sleeps outside.
“Another person, Catherine Ngboro, was on the said list as a ghost pensioner, but she is alive and it’s been nearly two years since she last received her pension. While some pensioners are struggling to get the money they are owed, there’s a group of Nigerians who can expect a bit more from retirement. Because Nigeria is run on a Federal system, each State gets to decide a list of its own laws. Which is handy, if you run the state. There have been protests to “No to Political Life Pensions” enjoyed by the political class. Like Lagos State, the governor is entitled to two houses, one in Lagos, and one in Abuja in a location of his choice, that’s what the law says. THEN HE’S ENTITLED TO 300% OF HIS BASIC SALARY AS PENSION. HE’S ENTITLED TO FOUR CARS, REPLACEABLE EVERY FOUR YEARS. ONE MAN, AND THAT SAME STATE, THAT IS DOING SO MUCH FOR ONE MAN, IS OWNING THOUSANDS OF PENSIONERS THREE YEARS OF PENSION THAT HAS NOT BEEN PAID.
“Back in Calabar where we started our investigation. Mr. Akpet, Mr. Gabriel, and Mrs. Ngboro, are finally receiving their pensions. The sudden change in their status is unexplained, though not all have been paid the thousands and thousands of naira they have lost due to their pensions being illegitimately withheld for so many months. Etika Cletus still has not been paid any of his pension and has no idea when, or if he ever will. Despite years of promises of change from the very top, we found the pension system is still ruined by incompetence and corruption, causing devastation in the lives of elderly and vulnerable Nigerians. We put the findings of our investigation to Mrs. Angela Etta (the state pension officer), Mrs. Franka Inok (the State’s Auditor-General), and Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, and asked for their comments. They have not responded.”
Though this investigative by the BBC Africa focused on Cross Rivers State, everything that was stated going wrong in the State, which have been depriving pensioners from receiving their entitlements, are also happening in all the States across Nigeria. The situation is even worse in some States. Some months ago, a report revealed that Delta and Edo State Governments have spent over a whopping N842m on pensions and benefits for just two convicted former governors in the last 12 years. The two former governors, James Ibori of Delta State and Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State were convicted for embezzling public funds between 1999 and 2007. What baffled me more was the fact that these heartless and wicked politicians: Ibori and Igbinedion, have stolen their States public funds to a bleeding point, had shortly before the end of their tenure signed laws that would guarantee LIFE PENSIONS and SEVERAL BENEFITS for them and their Successors. For former Delta State Governor, Ibori, who "served" between 1999 and 2007, he signed into law the Delta State Governor and Deputy Governor Pension Rights and Other Benefits Law 2005, which was later amended in 2009. That of Edo State is also similar to this.
I am however glad that States like Zamfara and Kwara have taken steps to cancel/repeal the law allowing the outrageous retirement packages that they have for their former Governors and Deputy Governors. We can only pray that Delta State House of Assembly and Government would one day 'miraculously' consider towing the same path like its Zamfara and Kwara State counterpart.
It is sad how so many of our former Governors are doing what we call: DOUBLE DEEPING. They are Deeping in several places. While they are collecting pensions, which is basically their former salaries and all kinds of benefits, they are now either lawmakers collecting full salary and allowances of lawmakers, at the same time that they are collecting their pensions. Or they are now Ministers, collecting salaries of Ministers while still collecting their pensions and other benefits as former governors. Either way, many of them are collecting salaries and pensions at the same time.
Tell me, how is Nigeria supposed to develop with these politicians robbing us point-blank. I think that is more than enough for you to digest in one day, because the reality is, this just shows you how our politicians are milking the country dry. These same governors will still owe salaries of teachers and doctors. We have not even started on our lawmakers, that’s for another day. Nigerian Governors and former Governors they get paid, not just more than what American and former Governors of America get paid, but they also get paid more than what American Presidents and former American Presidents get paid. We simply cannot continue to fold our hands, keep quiet and allow this anomaly to remain. It is absolute madness!
Zik Gbemre.
May 14, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
-By Zik Gbemre
NIGERIA AND ITS ‘RETIREMENT HELL’ FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS
While most Nigerian former State Governors receive as much as Three Times their former salaries as pensions, plus other outrageous bonuses… the rest of Nigerian workers who put in 30 to 35 years of their lives as active service, and who do not even get to be paid three quarter of what the former Governors get, are still owed their meagre pensions for years unending…
An Interesting Investigative report by BBC Africa has exposed and thrown more light on this evil in Nigeria…
There are more fake pensioners than real ones in the country’s pension system, which are apparently engineered by top Government officials to defraud real pensioners…
So many Nigerian former Governors are doing what we call DOUBLE DEEPING…
Call it man’s ‘deliberate’ wickedness to his fellow man, or man’s inhumanity to others; you would be correct, in describing how past and present Federal and State Governments in Nigeria have treated, and are still treating retired Pensioners from the public space. From retired Teachers, Nurses and Police Officers, the story of their lives after retirement has been that of hell and sadness, just to get what they are legally entitled to as pensions from the Government.
What baffles me in all of this is that, while most Nigerian former State Governors receive as much as Three Times their former salaries as pensions, plus other outrageous bonuses and allowances they still enjoy after leaving office, which is always paid without delays, however, the rest of Nigerian workers who put in as much as 30 to 35 years of their lives as active service, who do not even get to be paid three-quarters of what the former Governors get, are still owed their meagre pensions for years unending. And I have written consistently on this complaint, expressing why, and how can supposed Federal State Governments not prioritize the prompt and consistent ‘entitled payment’ of gratuities of its men and women who have retired from active public service? For instance, how can Police Officers in the country, sacrificially put in 35 years of their lives and sweats, yet their gratuities are deliberately delayed, underpaid, or not paid at all until they eventually get sent to an early grave?
I am however glad that this problem is beginning to draw the attention of the international community. I am sure some of us have seen the short video on social media platforms by BBC Africa, which exposed this evil experienced by Nigerian pensioners, through an investigative report by Yemisi Adegoke, in what she tagged: Retirement Hell. The BBC Africa reporter wanted to find out why some of our Nigerian elders are having to fight for what is legally theirs.
According to Adegoke: “When you pay into a pension scheme your entire life, you expect to get paid when you retire. Across Nigeria, many elderly people are being denied their state pensions for bizarre reasons. They are expected to pay officials to initiate their pensions. While others are raking it in… Every year in Nigeria, thousands of Nurses, Teachers and other government workers retire, expecting to swap their salary for a pension to support them in old age. Margaret Akpet was a healthcare worker for 27 years, and paid into the pension plan. When retired last year August, her pension payments never came through. When she reached out to the pension office. She was told to pay money to get her papers moving, which she did. But nothing happened. Her son, Obaji, who has been supporting her financially, agreed to secretly film any further interactions he had with the pension’s office on her behalf.
“He arranged a meeting with an official called Angela Effa. She described their meeting as a visit to a temple and she wanted an offering. In her words in the secret filming: “Here na shrine, them de call this place shrine, and you know say when you go to shrine you go must drop something.” No one actually uses the word bribe but it seems that payment is expected. Payment to a government worker whose job it is to pay out pensions. Obaji does what he is expected to do, by giving the woman N5,000. She appreciated the bribe offering and said he has done well.
“We have heard similar stories of pensions corruption at all levels and across Nigeria. And in fact, in 2019, 400 billion naira was owed to pensioners across the country. We then heard of other retirees that are being denied their money. I met a man who is dead, according to the state. “You need to be screened to confirm that you are alive and you are not dead. I said ok, we are ready. When Ogah Gabriel retired from teaching in 2000, he received his pension regularly until 2020 when it suddenly stopped. Cross Rivers State had decided, Mr. Gabriel, like over 1000 other people in the state, either didn’t exist or were dead. To get his pension, he’d have to convince the Auditor-General, Mrs. Franka Inok, that he was alive. One reason he was confident it would be easy to prove he was alive, was because he had known the Auditor-General since she was a little girl. According to him, the Auditor-General was furious that he had tried to use the personal relationships to advance his case, and she demanded an apology before reconsidering his application. We heard stories like this over and over again.
“All across the State, pensioners, old, sick and out of money, waiting for the Auditor-General. Eventually, they had enough and on the 3rd of Nov, 2020, they started a protest. So, where does this issue originate? Fake or ghost pensioners are a real problem in Nigeria and the adding of fictitious names to the payroll is one of the ways that money is stolen from government funds. SOMETIMES, THERE ARE MORE FAKE PENSIONERS THAN REAL ONES. A state, that cannot have more than 3,000 or 4,000 pensioners, has 10,000.
“Jerry Unah is a finance and business Journalist, familiar with the problem of pension fraud, but he doesn’t think the culprits are ordinary people like Mr. Ogah. According to Ogah: “Somebody will add names of non-existent pensioners. They will pay those ghost pensioners immediately, and the money goes into their pockets. IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT A CLERK CAN DO BECAUSE IT WOULD BE DISCOVERED. When trying to eliminate ghost pensioners, it shouldn’t take weeks, months or years, to work out who is alive and who isn’t. Last October, a list was published with over 300 names of people declared dead, and as a result their pension payments that stopped. According to a community leader, Patrick Nsoja, “99% of the persons in that list are still alive.” And he took the BBC reporter to meet with some of those on the list of supposed dead people. One of them is Mr. Cletus who stopped getting his pension in June last year. When asked, how he has been surviving, he said he has been managing with his small farm: “My children, I have stopped them from school because I have no money.” He has been to the pension’s office in Calabar five times. It’s about a day’s journey, and he has nowhere to stay the night when he goes, so he sleeps outside.
“Another person, Catherine Ngboro, was on the said list as a ghost pensioner, but she is alive and it’s been nearly two years since she last received her pension. While some pensioners are struggling to get the money they are owed, there’s a group of Nigerians who can expect a bit more from retirement. Because Nigeria is run on a Federal system, each State gets to decide a list of its own laws. Which is handy, if you run the state. There have been protests to “No to Political Life Pensions” enjoyed by the political class. Like Lagos State, the governor is entitled to two houses, one in Lagos, and one in Abuja in a location of his choice, that’s what the law says. THEN HE’S ENTITLED TO 300% OF HIS BASIC SALARY AS PENSION. HE’S ENTITLED TO FOUR CARS, REPLACEABLE EVERY FOUR YEARS. ONE MAN, AND THAT SAME STATE, THAT IS DOING SO MUCH FOR ONE MAN, IS OWNING THOUSANDS OF PENSIONERS THREE YEARS OF PENSION THAT HAS NOT BEEN PAID.
“Back in Calabar where we started our investigation. Mr. Akpet, Mr. Gabriel, and Mrs. Ngboro, are finally receiving their pensions. The sudden change in their status is unexplained, though not all have been paid the thousands and thousands of naira they have lost due to their pensions being illegitimately withheld for so many months. Etika Cletus still has not been paid any of his pension and has no idea when, or if he ever will. Despite years of promises of change from the very top, we found the pension system is still ruined by incompetence and corruption, causing devastation in the lives of elderly and vulnerable Nigerians. We put the findings of our investigation to Mrs. Angela Etta (the state pension officer), Mrs. Franka Inok (the State’s Auditor-General), and Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, and asked for their comments. They have not responded.”
Though this investigative by the BBC Africa focused on Cross Rivers State, everything that was stated going wrong in the State, which have been depriving pensioners from receiving their entitlements, are also happening in all the States across Nigeria. The situation is even worse in some States. Some months ago, a report revealed that Delta and Edo State Governments have spent over a whopping N842m on pensions and benefits for just two convicted former governors in the last 12 years. The two former governors, James Ibori of Delta State and Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State were convicted for embezzling public funds between 1999 and 2007. What baffled me more was the fact that these heartless and wicked politicians: Ibori and Igbinedion, have stolen their States public funds to a bleeding point, had shortly before the end of their tenure signed laws that would guarantee LIFE PENSIONS and SEVERAL BENEFITS for them and their Successors. For former Delta State Governor, Ibori, who "served" between 1999 and 2007, he signed into law the Delta State Governor and Deputy Governor Pension Rights and Other Benefits Law 2005, which was later amended in 2009. That of Edo State is also similar to this.
I am however glad that States like Zamfara and Kwara have taken steps to cancel/repeal the law allowing the outrageous retirement packages that they have for their former Governors and Deputy Governors. We can only pray that Delta State House of Assembly and Government would one day 'miraculously' consider towing the same path like its Zamfara and Kwara State counterpart.
It is sad how so many of our former Governors are doing what we call: DOUBLE DEEPING. They are Deeping in several places. While they are collecting pensions, which is basically their former salaries and all kinds of benefits, they are now either lawmakers collecting full salary and allowances of lawmakers, at the same time that they are collecting their pensions. Or they are now Ministers, collecting salaries of Ministers while still collecting their pensions and other benefits as former governors. Either way, many of them are collecting salaries and pensions at the same time.
Tell me, how is Nigeria supposed to develop with these politicians robbing us point-blank. I think that is more than enough for you to digest in one day, because the reality is, this just shows you how our politicians are milking the country dry. These same governors will still owe salaries of teachers and doctors. We have not even started on our lawmakers, that’s for another day. Nigerian Governors and former Governors they get paid, not just more than what American and former Governors of America get paid, but they also get paid more than what American Presidents and former American Presidents get paid. We simply cannot continue to fold our hands, keep quiet and allow this anomaly to remain. It is absolute madness!
Zik Gbemre.
May 14, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes