Disengaged civil servants to be paid soon

02.01.2008

Retrenched federal civil servants will soon be paid their terminal benefits, an official in the Accountant-General of the Federation’s (AGF) office said on Tuesday in Abuja.

The official said the AGF had already begun arrangements to pay the benefits of affected civil servants. The official told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the money was ready for disbursement, but for the delay in the computing of details.

The official, who pleaded anonymity, said the AGF was now waiting for the computed details of the retrenched workers from the National Pensions Commission (PENCOM) before payment would begin.

“The payment will be early this year,” the official said, while declining to specify the date of payment. On the allegations of financial impropriety that trailed the payment of benefits to some retrenched workers in December, the official said the deduction was deliberate.

He said 25 per cent was deducted from the benefits of all the retrenched workers who had not spent 10 years in service and kept in banks.

The official said the amount was removed because the pay accounts of affected workers were not audited before the AGF began payment, pointing out that they would be paid the 25 per cent after the auditing.

The official said the Auditor-General of the Federation was already working on the accounts of individuals and that the 25 per cent would be released afterwards.

According to him, a software is specifically designed for the payment process and it has separated those who have stayed over 10 years in the public service from the others.