The Federal Government has promised to clear outstanding entitlements owed to former workers who were disengaged from federal service over the past two decades, as authorities move to resolve long-running complaints over unpaid or incomplete benefits.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dasuki Arabi, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Gombe State during the ongoing verification exercise for former federal workers and other beneficiaries in the North-East.
The exercise is designed to establish the identities and claims of people who were disengaged from Government service but either received no severance benefits or were paid less than what they were entitled to.
Arabi said the Government was determined to bring the prolonged matter to a conclusion and ensure that legitimate beneficiaries received the money owed to them.
He explained that the exercise was approved by President Bola Tinubu as a final opportunity to identify and resolve outstanding claims. According to him, no former worker with a genuine and verified entitlement would be deliberately excluded from payment.
The BPSR boss said the Government was working with relevant financial and accountability institutions to authenticate the claims before payments are made.
Among the agencies involved are the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation and anti-corruption bodies.
The collaboration, he explained, was necessary to establish the authenticity of individual claims, prevent fraudulent applications and ensure that Government funds were released only to legitimate beneficiaries.
The latest verification exercise is part of a wider Federal Government effort to resolve severance-related complaints that have remained unsettled for many years.
Earlier Government notices indicated that the verification exercise covers former staff of federal ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals who were disengaged between 2005 and 2011 but did not receive their full severance benefits. It also includes eligible next-of-kin of deceased beneficiaries and some individuals who had taken legal action over unpaid entitlements.
The North-East exercise is being conducted in Gombe, one of the designated zonal centres for the nationwide verification programme.
The Government has scheduled the exercise across the six geopolitical zones, with the North-East verification taking place in Gombe in August. The zonal arrangement is intended to make it easier for former workers and beneficiaries to present themselves and submit the documents required to authenticate their claims.
Arabi said the Government had already made substantial progress in addressing the backlog, claiming that more than 99 per cent of the cases brought against the Government over unpaid entitlements had been resolved.
However, he acknowledged that some cases were still outstanding and required further verification before payment could be authorised.
He therefore encouraged former workers who believe they were wrongly excluded, underpaid or left without their legitimate benefits to come forward and present their complaints.
The verification process is particularly important for beneficiaries whose claims have remained unresolved because of incomplete records, changes in employment structures or disputes over the amount payable.
The BPSR Director-General also disclosed that some claims were being pursued by relatives of former workers who had died before receiving the money owed to them.
In such cases, eligible relatives or legal heirs are seeking to recover the outstanding benefits on behalf of the deceased beneficiaries.
This category of claimants is also being considered under the verification process, subject to the submission and authentication of the necessary documents.
Another major issue raised during the exercise is the pension status of some retired federal workers.
Some former employees have complained that their pension payments do not accurately reflect their years of service or the salaries they earned before retirement.
Yusuf Adamu, Chairman of Retirees at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, said some of the affected workers had spent about 22 years in service.
According to him, the workers served under different salary structures before the introduction of newer salary arrangements, creating complications in the computation of their retirement benefits.
Adamu explained that although some outstanding payments had eventually been made to affected workers, concerns over their pensions remained unresolved.
He said some retirees had earned between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000 before leaving service but were now receiving pensions that, in their view, did not adequately reflect their final salary grades and years of service.
The retiree representative appealed to the Federal Government to examine such cases and correct any errors identified in the computation of pension benefits.
He argued that the years spent in public service and the salary structures applicable to the workers before retirement should be properly reflected when their pension entitlements are reviewed.
The issue highlights the broader challenges surrounding the settlement of legacy obligations to former public servants.
For many of the affected workers, the claims have remained unresolved for years, leaving beneficiaries to repeatedly seek clarification and intervention from Government agencies.
The current verification exercise is therefore being presented by the Federal Government as a final effort to establish the genuine outstanding obligations and close the chapter on the long-running backlog.
The process is also expected to distinguish genuine claims from applications that cannot be supported by official records.
Government officials have repeatedly stressed the need for proper documentation and verification before payments can be made.
The nationwide exercise provides an opportunity for eligible former workers, deceased beneficiaries’ next-of-kin and other recognised claimants to present their cases for consideration.
The Government had earlier directed beneficiaries to appear with relevant identification and employment documents, including valid bank details and acceptable means of identification, as part of the verification requirements.
With the exercise now moving through the geopolitical zones, affected former workers are expected to take advantage of the designated verification windows to submit unresolved claims.
For those whose cases are genuine, the Government’s latest assurance could bring an end to years of waiting for severance benefits, unpaid allowances and other entitlements.
The exercise also places renewed attention on the need for accurate public-service records and proper management of workers’ benefits, particularly when employees are disengaged, transferred or retired.
Arabi’s assurance that legitimate claimants will not be left unpaid is expected to reassure former workers who have continued to demand settlement of their outstanding benefits.
The Federal Government’s position is that once a claim is properly established and verified, the beneficiary should receive the entitlement due.
The immediate focus, therefore, is on completing the verification exercise, resolving remaining complaints and ensuring that legitimate beneficiaries receive their outstanding payments.
For former workers who have waited for years, the completion of the process could mark a significant step towards resolving a 20-year backlog of unpaid Government obligations.