The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has released N7.61 billion to nine Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to pay retirement benefits to 4,237 retirees.

The Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adeniyi, disclosed this during a dialogue with retirees, reaffirming customs’s commitment to improving the welfare of its retired personnel.

The NCS’s spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said the CG announced that the funds had been disbursed to the PFAs for onward payment into the retirees’ individual accounts.

Mr Maiwada said the meeting followed ongoing efforts to improve retirees’ pensions, prompted by the federal government’s decision to review the statutory provisions governing pensions.

This includes Section 15(4) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, in line with Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

He said according to the breakdown presented at the meeting, Access-ARM Pension Managers accounted for 1,223 beneficiaries, Premium Pension 2,268, Leadway Pensions 403, TrustFund Pensions 156 and FCMB Pensions 144.

Others are Veritas Glanvills Pensions 28, Norrenberger Pensions 11 and Fidelity Pension Managers four, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 4,237.

Addressing the retirees, Mr Adeniyi underscored the need for the service to remain strong and financially capable of meeting its obligations to serving officers and retirees.

He emphasised that the welfare of officers who had dedicated decades to the NCS was integral to the institution’s future.

The NCS boss urged the retirees to sustain constructive engagement with the service, describing it as necessary to foster mutual understanding.

“I acknowledged your (retirees’) concerns and suggestions raised, and it is in view of this that we called for this dialogue.

“This is to promote better understanding and reduce the effect of rumours and unofficial information on the relationship between the service and its retired personnel,” he said.

The retirees thanked the CG and his management team for creating a platform for direct engagement.

They also urged the NCS to sustain the dialogue as part of efforts to strengthen the relationship between serving officers and retired personnel.

(NAN)