PTAD assures NITEL, MTEL pensioners’ of arrears payment

Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has reiterated its commitment to retired workers of the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, MTEL, under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) of pension benefits payment due to them.

This followed a protest by the pensioners against the Federal Government to pay their accrued pension rights.

PTAD’s Head of Corporate Communications, Olugbenga Ajayi, said efforts were being made to offset the 35 months’ arrears owed to this group of pensioners.

He said the Directorate had done the needful and was awaiting the funds for the payments.

He said the pensioners were not neglected as their welfare is very important to PTAD management. He urged them to be patient with the government.

Meanwhile, thousands of aggrieved retired workers of the defunct NITEL and its mobile arm, MTEL have appealed to the Federal Government to end years of injustice, neglect, and exclusion from pension benefits accorded to their counterparts in other defunct government agencies.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the aggrieved pensioners, under the umbrella of the Progressive NITEL-MTEL Pensioners Forum, appealed to the Federal Government, demanding the payment of their pension arrears and inclusion in approved pension increments.

The spokesperson, Auston Ifedinezi said: “We, the retired workers of NITEL-MTEL are gathered today to publicly express our deep pain and frustration over the ongoing injustices we face, even after decades of dedicated service to our country.

“Despite being under the same DBS system as other federal pensioners, we are being unfairly excluded from critical entitlements. We are the only defunct agency yet to be fully paid. All other defunct agencies have been fully paid while we are still being owed 35 months’ arrears, which is nearly three years of pension payments, without any communication on when these arrears will be settled.’’