The Nigeria Customs Service has released N7.61bn to nine Pension Fund Administrators for payment to 4,237 retirees, as Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to improving the welfare of retired personnel.
Adeniyi disclosed this on Tuesday at a meeting with NCS retirees, saying the funds had been disbursed to the PFAs for onward payment into beneficiaries’ individual accounts.
The breakdown showed that Premium Pension had the highest number of beneficiaries with 2,268, followed by Access-ARM Pension Managers with 1,223, Leadway Pensions with 403, TrustFund Pensions with 156, FCMB Pensions with 144, Veritas Glanvills Pensions with 28, Norrenberger Pensions with 11 and Fidelity Pension Managers with four.
Adeniyi said the Service must remain financially capable of meeting its obligations to serving officers and retirees, stressing that the welfare of personnel who had dedicated decades to the NCS was inseparable from the future of the institution.
He urged the retirees to sustain constructive engagement with the Service, saying the dialogue was intended to address concerns, improve understanding and reduce the impact of rumours and unofficial information on relations between the Service and its retired personnel.
The meeting, attended by the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Human Resources Development, Tijjani Abe, and other members of the Management Team, also saw assurances that the retirees’ concerns would receive appropriate attention at the Service’s Board and Management meetings.
The retirees thanked the Comptroller-General and his team for responding to their concerns and creating a platform for direct engagement, while urging the Service to sustain the dialogue.
The meeting comes amid broader efforts to improve pension payments following the Federal Government’s decision to review statutory provisions governing pensions, including Section 15(4) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, in line with Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.