The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Abubakar Dantsoho, to appear before it on Thursday to answer to allegations bordering on withholding pensions of its retired staff.
In a petition to the House, C. D. Ogbogu, on behalf of disengaged workers of the authority in May 2008, avered that the management of the Authority was yet to pay them their benefits and arrears of pension for 15 years and also refused to enroll them into the approved pension scheme.
Reacting, Chairman of the Committee, Mike Etaba, noted that the case cannot go on without NPA stating its own side of the story.
“The allegations are weighty and have apparently put some Nigerians through avoidable trauma. But it is only when we hear from NPA that we can determine what the issues are. That is why the Managing Director of the authority must come in person to clarify the situation. We hope he comes before we look for other means to compel his appearance”, Etaba stated.
In a related development, the committee directed the Inspector General of Police to bring the Managing Director of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Shehu Usman Osidi, and the Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Tolulope Odunaiya, to the House on Wednesday over non payment of pension and gratuity to some retirees 20 years after.
“We have been sending invitations to them for some time now and they have been ignoring us. We have no option than to wield the big stick. The police will bring them to the next sitting willy nilly. Look at these senior citizens and imagine what they are going through. These heads of these government agencies will explain to Nigerians what is really going on”, Etaba fumed.
The committee also requested the Nigeria Police Force to arrest and bring one Ifeanyi Emenike, from Port Harcourt to the committee next week to answer charges of land grabbing and fraudulent activities.
*Chooks Oko
SLA to the Speaker/Head, Media
