This piece will start with a short take. Invariably, it is related to our main discourse. This brief take has to do with the plight of pensioners in Imo State who have not been paid for the past six months. It was quite a sight as I watched the old men and women on television as they stated their case. Subsequently, a government spokesman came on board to explain why they had not been paid. In the process, he promised that the government would soon fulfil its obligations. Still, there was an air of indifference on the part of this state official. I believe that this attitude runs against the urgency of the matter. Here is hoping that by now, these senior citizens would have received their due rewards.
However, our main concern today is the rather interesting and evolving relationship between the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) and pensioners who retired from the university system. The university pensioners are sceptical about the ability of PTAD to cope as it goes about its statutory duty of tending to the needs of pensioners who retired from the various arms of the public service. The scepticism is anchored on the fact that by the latest count, over 378 Federal Government agencies are under this fledgling body, PTAD. Evidently, this number of pensioners is on the large side, particularly for a relatively new organization like PTAD.
On this note, even the director-general of PTAD seems to appreciate the huge responsibility that she and PTAD have to contend with. According to her, PTAD at its inception did not have a single database to work with. And yet, as stated above, she has been saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the welfare of pensioners in over 378 federal agencies.
It is possible to contend here that, if PTAD is to succeed, it must have at its disposal a comprehensive database of all the pensioners under its purview. Understandably, this takes time. And this is why PTAD is advised to learn how to walk prior to running!
Despite much of the foregoing, one should commend PTAD in light of a particular showing. Very recently, PTAD successfully carried out a mini-verification exercise for retired workers from the steel rolling mills in Jos, Katsina and Oshogbo. But this may well be the end of the sweet story. This is because, and as stated earlier, another category of workers (university pensioners) are worried that they may not be well served by PTAD. Indeed, the university pensioners are concerned that they come from a unique sector of the public service, and to this extent, there is the fear that PTAD is not well placed to serve their interest.
My own advice to PTAD is that it should not re-invent the wheel. PTAD can easily save itself a lot of hassle by relying on the data provided by the respective universities. On this note, PTAD can easily use the time-tested method of taking the money from the appropriate Federal Government agencies, as was done recently, and transmitting same to the various universities. Subsequently, PTAD can go about the task of building up its database on the university pensioners. Of course, such a process will take some time.
Therefore, and in light of the immediate foregoing, PTAD may even wish to re-strategize. Therefore, it will not be out of place for PTAD to go along with the current flow. Specifically, this involves the maintenance of the status-quo. This involves a situation in which university pensioners continue to receive their monthly dues through subsisting organs like the Budget Office, Accountant General’s Office and the Central Bank.
However, worries also abound about the attitude of PTAD staff. There are allegations that telephone calls are not answered, and that even when such calls are answered, they are often cut off without due regard for customers who are invariably pensioners. PTAD personnel should appreciate that they are dealing with individuals who are in the evening of their respective lives. These senior citizens certainly deserve courteous and decent treatment. A word of warning here. There is a law of life about the fact that today’s worker is tomorrow’s pensioner. Therefore, PTAD staff should remember this if only because their own time will also, and surely, come as pensioners.
There are also reports that a number of PTAD staff have ambiguous status. These are issues which relate to their age and the regular appointments which they hold. Here is hoping that this and other issues will be resolved promptly. There is also another source of concern about PTAD’s current operational structure. Sure, there is a management in place, but there is no governing board. Such a board ought to be giving general guidelines to the management. As things stand, therefore, PTAD is answerable to nobody, at least in the immediate sense. As soon as a minister of finance is appointed, here is hoping that a governing board and its attendant chairman will be put in place for PTAD.
At the risk of sounding repetitive, PTAD, in taking up the responsibility of paying university pensioners, should respond promptly to this category of senior citizens. They deserve no less!
Kayode Soremekun
