Dogara urges FG to bailout pensioners

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has asked the Federal Government to settle pension liabilities from the same source it got bailout funds for states.

Speaking when the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma and that of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, addressed the House on pension yesterday, Dogara said he was convinced that President Muhammadu Buhari was serious about resolving pension liabilities

“I believe that the issue will be resolved with the committee set up by the president. When the president made a commitment that he would pay money to states to pay backlog of salary and pension, it happened, even though we are in a state of recession.

“I don’t know where and how they got the money to pay bail out to states, but wherever they got the money, that’s where we’re going to get the money to settle pension,” he said.

He said the House would wait for the outcome of the presidential panel’s work on pension.

Speaking earlier, Udoma said all issues surrounding pension would be resolved soon.

On her part, Adeosun said the sufferings by pensioners would soon become a thing of the past with the resolve by the Mrs Sharon Ikeazorled Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) to take the verification exercise to the grassroots for pensioners’ verification.