Ex-ambassador on N2,400 monthly pension seeks justice

Aformer Nigerian ambassador to Egypt and then Iran in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ambassador Umar Bashir Wali, yesterday pleaded with federal authorities to take his issue into consideration as he now receives just N2, 400 monthly pension.

Speaking to Daily Trust, the retired diplomat stated that he served

Nigeria all his life till 1st January 1990 when he retired from civil service on grade level 16 as a Nigerian ambassador and when his pension was about N50,000.

He added that even with the several reforms on the pensions sector, his monthly pension kept shrinking instead of increasing, to the extent of being stopped for years.

“Even as a retired ambassador who served this nation for 36 years, for eight years I had been receiving N1, 800 as my monthly pension and later it was increased to N2, 400; that is what I have been given as my pension in the last eight years. I am 82 years and weak. I have written several complaints to pension office in Abuja to no avail. I have also gone there on several occasions to complain on the same issue. I have written and they promised to rectify but up till this moment nothing has been done about it. I am appealing to authorities concerned to as a matter of fairness look into this issue,” Ambassador Bashir Wali pleads.

In response to the former ambassador’s case, the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said that the payment of the outstanding retirement benefits of Ambassador Umar Bashir Wali is awaiting approval.

The Head of Corporate Communications of the Directorate, Theodora Amechi told Daily Trust yesterday that the pensioner was verified in November 2015 during a Civil Service Verification Exercise in Kano and his outstanding benefits processed.

“The pensioner supplied affidavits for his letter of first appointment and letter of retirement which delayed the resolution of his complaint,” she said, adding that his file had however been processed and pending approval for payment of outstanding benefits.

The PTAD had undergone interruptions in leadership as three different persons have headed the Directorate this year. Early in the year, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, suspended the former Executive Secretary of the Directorate, Nellie Mayshak, and appointed an acting head.

Recently, Barrister Sharon Ikeazor assumed office as the new executive secretary, having been appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.