Date: 2017-11-09

A similar exercise had earlier been carried out in Ogun state for Civil Service Pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

The pesnioers expressed satisfaction with the just concluded verification exercise conducted by PTAD in Ogun.

PTAD concluded the verification exercise for the South/West geopolitical zone with the conduct of the exercise which ran concurrently between Oct. 16 and October 22 in Ogun and Oyo state.

Some of the pensioners in Abeokuta praised PTAD for what they described as "an organised arrangement".

Olori Yetunde Gbadebo, the wife of the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, noted with delight that the programme was a departure from the past exercises.

"This present exercise is good and well-arranged and it is better than what we used to have in the past.

"Today, pensioners' interest is really considered and they have provided food and catered for the welfare of the pensioners.

"The arrangement in the past was not good. Pensioners were brought from all parts of the state and subjected to suffering. That is very heartless.

"This team is really better because the federal government has really done a lot.

She, however, urged PTAD to put measures in place to take better care of very old and sick pensioners.

The Vice Chairman of the Association of Pensioners in Ogun, Alhaji Onibajo Ashiru, also described the exercise as "a perfect arrangement".

He commended PTAD for the preparations that had gone into the exercise, adding that PTAD invited representatives of the pensioners to Abuja a fortnight ago where they were briefed about the exercise.

He confirmed that the pensioners were accorded due respect and treated as fathers and mothers, adding that they were also given useful counsels.

He, however, urged the federal government to speed up the process of payment after the screening to give hopes to pensioners in the other geopolitical zones of the country where the exercise would soon be conducted.