Verification Stalling Pension Increase, NSITF Tells Pensioners – Seeks More Time

By Chinedu Echianu

Management of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has explained that ongoing verification of pensioners is the major reason why implementation of the recently approved pension increase has not yet taken effect.

The Fund’s Managing Director, Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye, disclosed this at the weekend when the NSITF management team hosted the Pensioners’ Executive Committee at the Fund’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.

Represented by the Executive Director of Finance, Samuel Ayodele Olufemi, Faleye noted that upon assumption of office last year, he met several challenges, with pension matters being the most pressing.

“The Managing Director met a lot of issues on ground upon coming to office last year, but the one that gives him sleepless nights is pension. He wants to do it, but he wants to do it right,” Olufemi said.

He explained that proper verification of pensioners was essential, citing cases where some beneficiaries still on the payroll are nearly a hundred years old. Past verification exercises, he added, had been highly capital intensive, requiring officials to travel to several locations, while many pensioners also claimed they could not leave their homes to attend.

To address this, Olufemi revealed that the management is working on a more cost-effective and efficient verification process that would ensure fairness and accuracy.

During the meeting, the Pensioners’ Executive Committee presented a list of demands, including immediate implementation of the pension increment in line with a court judgment, inclusion of pensioners in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and revival of the Pension Fund Board of Trustees.

Assuring the retirees that their welfare remained a top priority, Olufemi said:

“The MD is a visionary person. He is somebody to whom staff welfare is very critical. And that includes ex-staff.”

Responding, Chairman of the NSITF Pensioners, Aliyu Danlami, commended the Faleye-led management for the rapid transformation of the Fund but appealed for urgent action on the pensioners’ requests.