Four ex-perm secs, 28 others arrested for N67bn pension fraud

No fewer than 32 public servants and private sector employees have been arrested by the Pension Reform Task Force for allegedly swindling the Federal Government retirees of about N67bn pension funds.

The task force comprises of operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and State Security Service.

Reliable sources at the task force disclosed that four former Permanent Secretaries and a former director in the pension department, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, were arrested alongside 27 others for the alleged fraud.

The sources said N12bn was found in the personal account of the former director alone.

The source also alleged that N4bn was found in the personal account of a former deputy director in the department, who has also been arrested by the task force.

According to the source, the two former officials of the pension department have, however, been granted bail, while further investigation is ongoing.

The source disclosed that properties worth over N15bn and N36bn in cash had so far been recovered from the 33 suspects.

EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwajaren, confirmed to our correspondent on the telephone that the agency was working with the task force to investigate pension frauds in the federal civil service.

Last month, the task force announced that it uncovered N151bn pension funds allegedly stolen by officials in the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

The Senate Committee on Pension had on Monday suspended the activities of the task force due to the lingering problems in the pension scheme.

The Chairman, Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, and State and Local Government on the Investigation of Pension Payments and Management/Administration of Pension Funds, Senator Aloysious Etok, said in a telephone interview with our correspondent, “The activities of the task force were suspended until the government will take another decision on it because despite all that it has been doing, many pensioners are still complaining.”

However, sources said the National Assembly was already reconsidering the suspension of the task force.

Many retirees have been lamenting that since the end of the 2010 validation exercise, their names have been removed from the pension payroll, while the monthly stipend payments have been reduced to ridiculous low amounts.

According to the National Union of Pensioners, some of the problems that the retirees have been encountering include irregular payment of gratuity and pensions and arbitrary yanking off of pensioners’ names from the payroll.

The NUP, Ogun State chapter, in a memorandum signed by its Chairman, Mr. Bola Lawal, and Secretary, Chief K. O. Odukoya, said, “Prior to 2002, payment of the federal share of pension was the prerogative of the state governments before the Federal Government decided to transfer the payment of federal pension to the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; ever since then, things have been falling apart and no visible solution of moulding it together is in sight.”

For this reason, the union suggested that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation should settle all the outstanding claims and that federal payment of pension should be returned to the states for payment.

Also, the Oyo State branch of NUP, in a memorandum signed by both its Chairman, Alhaji Lateef Adegoke, and Secretary, Mr. Olusegun Abatan, suggested that a pension wind-down commission with adequate legislation by the National Assembly should be set up to see to the payment of pensioners under the old pension scheme.