From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Military Pensions Board(MPB), said it has commenced the Electronic Verification Exercise for military pensioners with the launching of its Electronic Verification Management System.
The Military Pensions Board Electronic Verification Management System is a web-based system designed to enable military pensioners to carry out their verification from the comfort of their locations using a mobile device.
Chairman of the board, Air Vice Marshall Irumheson, who made this known, said the system takes pensioners through multiple stages of a verification process that ends with the generation of a reference number which is sent to pensioners via text message and email.
To carry out their verification, the chairman said pensioners would be required to download the Military Pensions Board Electronic Verification Application on their smartphone and agree to the attestation.
To gain access to the system, he said pensioners would be required to input their Bank and account number and check the terms and conditions box and follow the instructions on the screen for a selfie capture of their face for liveness verification.
“Thereafter, pensioners will input their National Identity Number (NIN) or Driver’s License number for biodata verification. If both operations are successful, pensioners will be required to update their profile by providing their phone number, email address and BVN for validation. If the validation is successful, a reference number will be generated which will serve as proof of completion of the verification process. Pensioners’ ATM Card details and ATM Card PIN are not required for the confirmation process. Therefore, our esteemed pensioners are warned to be wary of fraudsters.
He said the Board would commence the deployment of the electronic verification application from February 19–March 1, with a pilot test in which 300 pensioners drawn from each of the 36 states of the federation would test the application, adding that Pensioners who were selected to participate in the pilot test have been duly notified through the Nigerian Legion and other veterans associations.
He further stated that the selected pensioners will not be required to visit the board to participate in the pilot test.
According to him, “a link would be sent to the pensioners via SMS instructing them to download the electronic verification application and carry out the verification in their respective locations. Pensioners who did not receive any notification should kindly note that they are not part of the pilot test and would not be able to gain access to the system to carry out their verification at this time.
Continuing, the chairman said “On successful completion of the pilot test, the application would be deployed on a full scale at programmed intervals for pensioners on the Board’s payroll to carry out their verification.
“We wish to use this opportunity to assure our esteemed pensioners that the electronic verification solution was designed with their utmost welfare in mind, leveraging on technology to achieve accuracy, user-friendliness, and convenience. This is in fulfilment of the promise made when I took over as the Chairman Military Pensions Board to ensure that the era of bringing out our aged pensioners for physical verification is over.
“Be rest assured that nobody can tamper with your pension payment through the electronic verification application. If somebody with a smartphone in your neighbourhood helps you carry out the verification, the person cannot steal your money. All we need is a confirmation that you are still alive so that we can continue to pay your pension.
“In the coming weeks, we intend to carry out a massive awareness campaign on this system, to sensitise pensioners and the general public. As always, we are available to answer any questions you might have on the electronic verification exercise.