Kano State Pension Fund Trustees, says it has concluded arrangements to conduct a 5-day pension screening exercise, to sanitise pension administration in the state.
Mr Sani Dawaki, Chairman of the Fund, made this known at a news conference on Thursday in Kano.
Dawaki said the exercise tagged: “I am alive,” would be conducted between Oct. 12 and 17, adding that the exercise was designed to screen and weed out ghost pensioners in its payroll.
He said that pensioners who retired in the local government service would be screened under the first phase of the exercise while the second phase would capture those in the state Civil Service.
The chairman said that pensioners were expected to appear physically before the screening committee for data capture at designated centres.
This, he said would enable the committee to verify and ascertain whether a pensioner is alive or dead.
“We are having problems with regards to pensioners who are no longer alive and we have no record of their deaths.
“There is no way we can stop payment of their pension untill we seek the mandate of their relations to take necessary action.
“We will adopt the use of individual bank account for pensioner in the state civil service,” he said .
Dawaki added that the Fund adopted proactive measures to facilitate smooth conduct of the exercise.
The Chairman disclosed further that the Fund had paid 31,856 pensioners in Sept.