Verified ex-Nigeria Airways pensioners to get 50% payment this week

THE accounts of verified former workers of the liquidated Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL) will be credited with their entitlements this week, it was learnt yesterday.

A statement issued by Special Adviser to Finance Minister Paul Ella Abechi said the Minister, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, who was represented by Secretary of Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), Dr. Mohammed K. Dikwa, gave the assurance while addressing pensioners during the verification exercise in Lagos.

Dikwa appealed to the pensioners to be patient and remain orderly, adding that “after the verification exercise, 50 per cent payment of entitlements will be made in this first tranche by next week”.

He stressed that the process is being supervised by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) with the aim of making the exercise transparent and credible.

He also noted that “the biometric capturing of all verified pensioners will address cases of duplicity and ensure seamless payment of the remaining 50% entitlements of the ex-workers”.

The former Airways pensioners were assured that “the Federal Government has noted the concerns and fears raised on omitted and missing names in the ongoing verification exercise” and has created a help desk to attend to them.

The exercise, which was meant to end today, has been extended by an additional one week to attend to all qualified beneficiaries.

The verification exercise and payment of the entitlements of the pensioners was based on the directives and approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Dikwa, “adequate measures have been put in place to address some challenges being encountered since the exercise started last week Monday, fast track the process and get every pensioner properly verified”.

For those, who are deceased pensioners and those with missing documents, Dikwa  said: “Separate desks has also been created in the three centres, in Kano, Enugu and Lagos, to ensure they are verified to enable them receive their entitlements.”