The management of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said plans are in the offin for establishment of separate Pension Administration to manage pension of retired Officers.
NCS Comptroller General, Wale Adeniyi drop the hint over the weekend in Abuja at a reunion of old and new management members of the Nigeria Customs Service, christened “our customs heroes.”
To this end, Adeniyi said the process was on , with Minister of Finance, Wale Edun consenting to sponsoring a bill for the establishment of a separate entity-NCS Pension Administration.
The initiative is modeled after the Nigeria Military, which has its separate Pension Service.
He said the Service accords priority to welfare of staff especially the retired ones, noting that a number of measures are being undertaking to ameliorate retired officers’ plight.
“And recognizing the urgency of addressing pension, concerns, discussions have been initiated with the Minister of Finance to sponsor a bill aimed at establishing a separate entity for the management of NCS pension administration.This model will be mirroring successful models in other sectors such as the military.”
Adeniyi said the Human Resource Department, has been actively engaged in transitioning the current verification exercises of retired Customs officers and migrating it from being a physical format to a digital format, streaming and expediting the processes.
He further noted that based on the wealth of experience of the retired heroes, the NCS is planning to take advantage of their expertise to engage them as NCS consultants.
“Moreover, recognizing the wealth of experience held by our retired management officers, the service is exploring options to leverage these expertises by engaging them as our consultants.”
Those that graced the reunion included ex – Comptroller – Generals of Customs, retired Deputy Comptroller- General of Customs and Assistant Comptroller -Generals of Customs.
In his goodwill message, Hammed Ali appreciated Adeniyi for being innovative to the extent of organizing the reunion.
He further expressed gratitude to him for the support and advice the present CG accorded him during his tenure.
According to Ali, the support Adeniyi gave him is now accountable for his own modest success.
On the other hand, ex CG Dr. Abubakar Musa pledged his willingness to offer advice to the NCS whenever the need arises to Adeniyi.
Adeniyi said: “As we embark on this crucial journey to harness the invaluable wealth of experience from our retired officers, it is imperative to acknowledge and address some existing gaps that may have hindered the optimal utilization of these valuable resources.
“Learning from successful instances of some other organizations, we must recognize the following gaps and we must strive to overcome them. I come humbly before you, to let know that we have not done the best to ensure we tap into resource.
“I know that a number of reasons might be responsible for this. And learning from successful instances of some other organizations we must recognize the gaps, and we must strive to overcome them.
“I come humbly before you to let you know that we have not done the best to tap into your resources and know that a number of reasons might be responsible for this. I will just try and mention some which possibly will resonate”, he said.