Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), University of Benin branch, has disclosed that the Federal government lost N1 billion monthly to ghost pensioners monthly.

The pensioners, in a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Muhammadu Buhari and signed by the Chairman, Michael Ehinyameh, and Secretary, Samanu Momodu, respectively, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately swing into action in resolving their plights.

The union said that the verification exercise carried out by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) and Federal Ministry of Finance did not see the light of day, adding that over N2 billion was spent in the verification carried out by the PTAD and Federal Ministry of Finance in 2017 without achieving any success.

According to the the Chairman, Michael Ehinyameh, Many pensioners were not paid their monthly entitlements and there is always short payments after working for 35 years with bad records.

Ehinyameh also stated that the palliatives meant for the vulnerable was never given to the pensioners and may have been hijacked by unknown persons.

However, the union commended the Federal government for the establishment of the PTAD for the payment of the pensioners and expressed hope for a better tomorrow.