The Federal Government has cleared the 17-year outstanding severance allowances of 1,330 officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service who retired between 2006 and 2007.

At a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr. Dasuki Arabi announced that 885 officers had been verified and paid their outstanding benefits after a verification exercise was conducted across the six geopolitical zones across the country.

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The DG noted that the exercise, which began on November 27, 2023, and ended on January 20, 2024, was a culmination of efforts by the BPSR, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Federal Civil Service Commission, and Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.

“We have finally resolved the outstanding severance benefits of 1,330 disengaged officers from the 2006/2007 reform programme. This achievement serves as a beacon of hope for other parastatals and MDAs facing similar challenges,” Arabi added.

Arabi equally thanked the FG for its “unwavering commitment to addressing this long-standing issue, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.”

He noted that 17 verified officers could not be paid due to some inconsistencies in their account details, but are being addressed by the stakeholders’ committee.

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It was reported that ten months after their recruitment, NIS officers were yet to receive their salary arrears despite being captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

The personnel, whose appointment letters date back to August 15, 2023, claimed they had not been paid between September 2023 and February 2024.

The National Chairman and Coordinator, National Association of Retired Immigration Officers, Mr. Ola Gbadamosi acknowledged the payment to the association’s members but noted that some beneficiaries could not be traced due to mix-ups in the biodata of the next of kin for the late officers.

“I want to thank the DG, BPSR and the office of the Accountant-General and Auditor-General of the Federation for their intervention in making the payment a success. It has been 17 years of struggle but it’s a reality today.

“Although we have not been able to fully verify some of our members, about 400 of them. We are working to ensure that everyone is fully captured,” Gbadamosi said.

He also appealed to the government to settle the disparities in the 17-year salary arrears owed to the retirees.