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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Pensioners under the aegis of the Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPPAN) has declared war with the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) over alleged diversion of its statutory check-off dues.
Its President-General, Benjamin Amakko and General Secretary, Franklin Erinle, in a statement, yesterday, urged President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to compel PTAD to comply with the law and remit the dues belonging to pensioners under its jurisdiction.
They claimed that PTAD deliberately strangled the union through the withholding and diversion of check-off dues deducted from pensioners who fall within the association’s jurisdiction. They further alleged that instead of complying with the law, PTAD has continued to remit dues belonging to its members to the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), a situation the association described as unlawful and unacceptable.
Amakko warned that the situation has reached a breaking point and could escalate if the agency continues to ignore both the law and directives from relevant authorities.
According to him, what should ordinarily be a routine administrative responsibility has been turned by PTAD into a prolonged campaign of obstruction and institutional hostility against a duly registered trade union representing thousands of pensioners across Nigeria.
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He said: “The Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria is compelled, with deep frustration and grave concern, to raise a public alarm over what has now become a sustained, deliberate and intolerable effort by PTAD to undermine and ultimately strangle our union through the persistent refusal to remit statutory check-off dues lawfully belonging to FEPPPAN.”
Citing the provisions of the Trade Unions Act 2004, he stressed that employers and relevant government agencies are legally obligated under Section 17 of the law to deduct and remit trade union check-off dues directly to the appropriate registered union representing the workers or pensioners concerned.
“The law does not grant any agency the discretion to arbitrarily divert such deductions to another organisation.
“The continued diversion of statutory check-off dues belonging to FEPPPAN members to the Nigeria Union of Pensioners is not only unjustifiable but completely unacceptable.
“This injustice has persisted despite numerous engagements, stakeholder meetings and consultations convened specifically to address the matter.
“At every stage, FEPPPAN has presented documentary evidence, legal opinions and policy references clearly establishing our rightful claim. Yet, PTAD has continued to respond with delay tactics and shifting explanations,” he added.
