12 January 2014, Abuja – The Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, said, yesterday, that 43, 375 former staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, have been verified and paid their terminal benefits totaling N361,024,432,338.48.
The image maker of the bureau, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, said, in a statement in Abuja, that their gratuity and pension entitlements were paid into their Retirement Savings Accounts.
According to him, those paid so far represented 94.79% of the former PHCN staff strength.
He was reacting to media reports credited to the General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, Mr. Joseph Ajaero, that 25, 000 former PHCN staff were yet to be paid.
According to Anichebe, the “validation of another 2,382 has been concluded and payments are in process”. He continued: “This brings the total number of staff verified to 45, 757 or 95.5% of the purported staff strength of PHCN.
Furthermore, the Committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power is still working tirelessly to validate the remaining 4.5% of the work force.
*Emma Ujah, Vanguard
