BENIN CITY – The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) yesterday commenced a Nationwide verification exercise for customs, Immigration and prison pensioners in 13 centers across the country. It is expected to end on Thursday July 30, 2015.
The centers are located in Rivers, Edo, Cross River, Enugu and Imo State. Other centres include, Lagos, Oyo, Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kwara, Benue states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
A release issued by the Director –General, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Mrs. Nellie Mayshack made available to  “The Nigerian Observer said “verification exercise for customs, Immigration and prisons pensioners from Edo/Delta state is holding at the Benin prisons, at the Government Reservation Road (GRA), Benin City.
The release added that “PTAD is equally aware of the sick and infirm customs, Immigrations and prisons pensioners and they are advised to contact PTAD through an email at various designated centres”
It advised all prisoners to come along with all necessary documents, including the original and photocopies of their relevant retirement credentials.
PTAD has as some of its objective, to establish a credible and authentic database of pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), eliminate ghost workers and duplicate payments.
Others included, update of records of the Next of kin (NOK) and the need to regularize anomalies in over payments and under payments amongst others.
In an interview with The Nigerian Observer Edo State Chairman of NAPO, Chief Petrius Okosun said, “This is the verification of NAPO pensioners. It comprises the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Prison Service”.
Chief Okosun added that “The procedure has been very orderly. The last time we had this kind of verification was 2011; this is the second one. They say that they want to know the exact number of pensioners who are alive.
“We expect that as the end of this exercise we are likely to be paid the 33 percent increase, he said.