House of Representatives on Wednesday initiated an investigation into the alleged deduction of N1 billion from Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) account and outrageous payments of N500 million as rent for its head office in Abuja.
Investigation showed that the office was owned by one of the immediate past minister.
Recall that Nellie Mayshak, PTAD director, was recently suspended from office for allegedly paying unapproved allowances worth N60 million as monthly salary among other sundry allegations.
Mayshak is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The probe, which was sequel to the adoption of the motion sponsored by Lawal Garba, also covers the management of the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) by PTAD since inception.
The House Committee on Pensions is also expected to determine the level of compliance by the PTAD with the Pension Reform Act, 2014 in the execution of its mandate, and report back to the House in six weeks.
In his lead debate, Garba said the PTAD had recorded some achievements like the removal of ghost pensioners from the system, re-enrolling over 4,000 genuine pensioners who were unjustly removed and minimising loopholes in the payment to its barest minimum.
He however expressed concern about “allegations against the management of PTAD bothering on misappropriation of pension funds, abuse of office, non-payment of 33 percent harmonised arrears, short payment/non-payment of monthly pensions, unjustified salaries and allowances of staff of the PTAD, deduction of N1 billion PTAD accounting records and the outrageous payments of N500 million as rent for its head office.”
He argued that unless there is strict adherence with the Pension Act 2014, the nation could be thrown back to the past era that was characterized by irregularities that subjected retirees to enormous hardships, which led to the establishment of PTAD.
The House noted that PTAD “is empowered to prepare and submit the monthly payroll of pensioners to the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) for direct payment from the budgetary allocation maintained with the Central Bank, to pensioners under its jurisdiction.
According to the lawmakers, PTAD was established to address the numerous complaints by pensioners about non-payment or short payment of monthly pensions, removal of names of pensioners from payment vouchers, irregular payment of pensions, among others.
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