News Editor
By Olu Balogun
A prominent non governmental organization, NGO, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria, MMWG, has commended President Bola Tinubu “for taking a bold step in relieving federal pensioners of economic hardship they are facing by taking a bond of N758 Billon (Seven Hundred and Fifty-Eight Billion Naira) to offset all pension arrears and commitments.”
The group, in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim and issued on Thursday, noted that the latest approach of the President would greatly relieve pensioners of their economic burden upon which they have suffered untold hardship.
It, however, warned that “this new policy must be well monitored to prevent any sabotage by some Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), who have been accused of frustrating some pensioners who enrolled with them.”
According to the MMWG, “in Nigeria, some Pension Funds’ Administrators have added to the problems confronting the pensioners instead of reducing them by delaying payment of their pensions payment for nearly two years after their retirement.”
“If payment of monthly pensions were delayed for two years after retirement, for how long would gratuities be delayed? All these infractions and inefficiencies have encouraged corruption in the public sectors of our nation’s economy,” it stated.
The MMWG, therefore, called for a holistic approach and efficient monitoring process by the Presidency and the National Pension Commission, PENCOM in solving pensioners’ problems once and for all.
On the states and local government pensioners, it called on all state governors to emulate the federal government in clearance of humongous debts owed pensioners at the two levels by evolving a sustainable and efficient strategy to clear all arrears of gratuities and pensions owed their public servants.
Meanwhile, the MMWG has called on the federal government to urgently consider amendment of relevant Administration of Criminal Justice, ACJ laws to henceforth ensure harsh punishment for economic crimes being committed in Nigeria.
Its National Coordinator, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim made the call on radio and television programmes in Ibadan on Wednesday while answering questions on curbing corruption in Nigeria on Pensioners FM Radio 106.7 in the Oyo State capital.
Ibrahim, who is also a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM, called for the abrogation of plea bargaining in economic crimes process in the country.
According to him, “Instead of curbing corruption, plea bargaining is promoting corruption as looters of public funds returns only 25% or 30% of the loots to enjoy their loots and and undeserved freedom gained through the court process because of our weak laws on economic crimes.”
He maintained that “in such circumstances; economic crimes would continue to increase as we are having it presently.”
The expert also criticised the present situation whereby all economic crimes no matter how humongous in Nigeria are bailable, pointing out that if China and Singapore punishes serious economic crimes with death sentence, Nigeria cannot fight corruption holistically with all economic crimes being bailable.
As a solution, he called for bench-marking of bailable economic crimes while serious ones should be determined with suspects remaining in prisons until their cases are determined.
