PTAD visits EFCC, seeks help on pension assets recovery, fight against pension fraudsters
The Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr. Chioma Ejikeme led her management team on a courtesy visit to the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, at the Commission’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja today, calling on the Commission to assist PTAD on her drive to recover pension assets from insurance companies.
PTAD management said in a statement made available to us that the visit was to introduce the new Executive Secretary (Dr. Chioma Ejikeme) to the Chairman and seek further support and collaboration with the Commission on the war against pension fraudsters and scammers.
The Executive Secretary appreciated the Chairman for the support rendered to PTAD in the past especially during the recently concluded Parastatal Pensioners verification exercise.
She applauded the giant strides the commission has made towards combating the cankerworm of corruption in the country.
More recently is the apprehension and prosecution of a staff of Office of the Auditor General for the Federation posted to PTAD who was arrested and charged to court by the Commission for collecting gratification from pensioners before their benefit was paid.
She therefore called on the Commission to give the case publicity to serve as a deterrent to others who may be planning to commit the same crime.
Dr. Ejikeme informed the EFCC Chairman of the challenge faced by the Directorate on Asset recovery from Insurance Companies who were the underwriters of the privatized Agencies before they were transferred to PTAD.
She urged the Commission to help PTAD recover Pension Assets of over N22bn owed by NICON Insurance Plc alone.
PTAD ES, also used the visit to enumerate some of the achievements made by the Directorate on its mandate.
She told the chairman that the Directorate has been paying the monthly benefits to pensioners as and when due, adding that the Agency also paid the outstanding balances of the 33% arrears which had been lingering since 2010 to the pensioners and the Next of Kin.
PTAD boss stated that the Directorate has also paid some of the pension liabilities of defunct agencies, pointing out that ICPC in 2019 rated PTAD number one among 189 agencies of Government evaluated on ethics and compliance.
Responding, the EFCC Ag. Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, thanked the Executive Secretary for the visit and promised Commission’s readiness to partner with PTAD to sanitize the system.
He said all cases of pension fraud will be followed to its logical conclusion and therefore requested for timely information on any case of fraud so that the culprit could be arrested and prosecuted.
