Yemisi Izuora
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), has commenced update of Pensioners database as it has approved expanding its “I Am Alive” initiative .
The programmers would be conducted nationwide before the end of 2022.
The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, confirmed this at the end of three-day confirmation training for Pension Union Executives and Pension Desk Officers, PDOs, in Abuja.
She said that PTAD began the pilot phase of the confirmation solution in October 2021, with 50,000 pensioners randomly selected from the four operational departments in the directorate.
According to her, the pilot phase has been successfully completed with observed hiccups fixed. She said that the “I AM ALIVE” confirmation solution was introduced to enable PTAD to continuously update its pensioners’ database through a digital process. Ejikeme also said was meant to ascertain verified pensioners that were alive and should continue to receive their monthly pension.
She said that the digital platform would be deployed for nationwide use.
“The aim of PTAD gathering the PDOs and union executives from the South East zone is to train them on the “I AM ALIVE” solution as an innovation using technology that will henceforth allow them to engage in verification at the comfort of their homes.
“They don’t have to travel anywhere. They can just do the confirmation with laptop computer system or their phones,” Ejikeme said.
She said that the PTAD was making efforts to create both appropriate and adequate awareness in order to get the project to be successful.
“It is appropriate to training some people who are going to help these people with their verification.
“So what we are doing now is to train the focal persons who will help us within the community to help these pensioners confirm their aliveness in the event that they cannot do it for themselves,” she said. Ejikeme said that the “I AM ALIVE” verification was for pensioners already verified and are on the database and on the payroll of PTAD.”
