Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has directed the due process office to ensure the payment of 50 per cent to all pensioners in the state, along with salaries of civil servants for the month of August.
He also directed that a list of all the pensioners be published every month as well be sent to the finance committee and other relevant agencies for action.
The governor gave the directive on Thursday when the State Pensions Board and Verification Review Committee presented an interim report on its findings to him in Government House, Yenagoa.
Dickson also called for a continuous verification exercise to verify and confirm all leakages, in order to reduce fraud, which has bedevilled the pensions’ system.
While urging communities and families of pensioners to cooperate with the pensions board, by giving information on departed pensioners to the government, he expressed dismay over the repeated cases of pension fraud, which has held up the development of the state.
The governor also used the forum to call on citizens to support the government policy of developing a data base and framework for pensioners in the state, while also advising workers to key into the pension commission.
He said, “I want to commend the committee for a brilliant and painstaking report that has reposed our confidence in you which is not misplaced at all.
“The committee should continue to verify and confirm all wastages so that the pension system will be fraud free, and all citizens should support the government in developing a data base for pensioners.”
Presenting the report, chairperson of the committee, Mrs. Jane Alek, said that out of 10,000 forms the committee issued to pensioners for verification, only four thousand pensioners returned their forms.
She further explained that the October and November, 2015 salaries of pensioners have already been paid by the committee, pointing out that , the team identified and detected omissions, fake pensioners and those who have died, but still have their names on the list of pensioners.
