NICON Insurance Pensioners Urges FG to Reopen Dialogue on Outstanding Claims

 

Mr Awa Mmaju, a representative of the pensioners, made the appeal in an interview with reporters.

He said a committee established by the BPE to resolve the outstanding pensions issues had yet to complete its assignment after its inaugural meeting on March 14 and subsequent meeting on May 2.

Mmaju said that the committee which was inaugurated by a representative of the Director-General of BPE, Mr Benjamin Dikki, was given two months to complete its assignment.

According to him, membership of the committee are drawn from the BPE, EFCC, National Pension Commission, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, NICON Insurance and representatives of pensioners.

Mmaju recalls that at the inaugural meeting, the representative of the director-general of BPE conceded that after the payment of terminal benefits of N3.9 billion in 2006 to staff and pensioners of the company, four pertinent issues remained unresolved till date.

``These issues are litigation against NICON Insurance Management by 14 pensioners of the company.

``The case of 2006 beneficiaries who wanted to be included in the judgment obtained by the Group 14 pensioners after collecting their payment in 2006.

``The case of former concerned NICON Insurance Corporation staff that are complaining of short payment and the status of pension scheme of the corporation as at the time of privatisation,’’ he said.

On the shortfalls in the payment of terminal benefits, Mmaju noted that the payments (future earnings) they received six years ago, were devalued at the rate of 14 per cent instead of 8 to 10 per cent that was the prevailing rates then.

He also claimed that a 10 per cent pensions increment awarded to NICON pensioners annually was not taken into due consideration during the computation of their benefits in 2006.

``In 1993, the Federal Government came up with a 25 per cent pension increase and when NICON was commercialised in 1994, the board of the corporation stated the implementation of the increase with 15 per cent and 10 per cent from time to time.

``The 10 per cent increase was maintained by the management of the corporation up to the time of privatisation.

``However, the 10 per cent increase was not taken into consideration during the computation of our benefits in 2006,’’ he said.

Commenting on the issue, the spokesman of the BPE, Chukwuwa Nwokoh, said that the committee had completed its work and would soon forward it’s findings to the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).

However, the pensioner’s representatives disagreed with the claim, citing that the committee had yet to extensively deliberate and make recommendations on its 10-point of reference.

Reports say that NICON Insurance Plc was privatised in December 2005 through a core investor sale to Assurance Acquisition Limited.

Seventy per cent of the Federal Government equity amounting to 700,000 ordinary shares of the company, was divested to the core investor.