Why Pensioners Are Missing Mayshak At PTAD -By Eleojo Augustine

Nothing in nature is so universally decried, and yet so universally practiced, as falsehood. A mighty, governing lie goes round the world, and has almost banished truth out of it. The greatest annoyance and disturbance of mankind has been from one of these two things, force or fraud; and force often allies with fraud. It is the tongue that drives the world before it and it is hard to assign any one thing but lying, which God and man so unanimously join in the hatred of; and it is hard to also tell whether it does a greater dishonour to God, or mischief to man. The unlawfulness of lying is grounded upon this, that a lie is properly a sort of species of injustice, and a violation of the right of that person to whom the false speech is directed.

This falsehood, no doubt, has played itself in the recent suspension of the embattled Executive Secretary and Director General of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs. Nellie Mayshak, who was suspended months ago by the minister of finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun based on an unfounded allegations that are yet to be proven.

Mayshak who was said to have digitized the old pension scheme for effective service delivery to ensure seamless payment of pensioners also brought transparency into the system. PTAD under her watch leveraged on technology to get database of pensioners which helped the agency know the actual number of pensioners thus removing ghost pensioners from the system.

Expressing disappointment over the agency’s inability to follow the blue print of Mayshak, who is described by many as an “outstanding public sector reform expert”, the pensioners also made series of complains about the agency losing the glory and values it was known for while she was in charge.

The baseless rumors making waves that the embattled DG was earning N50-60 million monthly was debunked as false, baseless, and maligning to her character, and described as an act perpetuated by mischief makers with the intention to dent her hard earned reputation. It is obvious that her salary is subject to approval by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission whom amongst other functions advises the federal and state governments on national income policy.

The embattled PTAD boss had in a reaction to the accusation said, “I did not appoint myself; I  do not monitor myself, the agency reports directly to the coordinating minister of the economy and the Hon.  Minister of finance, there is a permanent secretary. We are bound by the rules of the public services. The office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation is our boss that we report to. National Pension Commission (PENCOMM) is our regulator we have a host of institutions agencies of government that we report to that regulate our activities and are truly in support of the effort that we are carrying out in PTAD. We are bound by the rules and we obey all the laws of the public service of Nigeria.”

Of course, her suspension was seen by many Nigerians especially pensioners and their next of kins across the country as a setback in the transformation of PTAD and have called for the reinstatement of Mrs. Mayshak, arguing that their call became apparent as a result of the gross deterioration in the quality of verification exercise and the non-payment of pensioners since her wrongful suspension from office.

Although the minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun had said that the suspension was to give room for investigations of alleged corruption in PTAD under her watch, the pensioners who took to the agency’s facebook page and other conventional forum to express their ordeals insisted that the numerous contributions of Mayshak to PTAD should not be swept under the carpet over unproven allegations.

They recalled that while the embattled DG served as PTAD boss she had put smile on the faces of pensioners and their next of kin, they eulogized her policies, and some others wrote recommendation letters lauding her efforts in bringing to an end the gory tales of pensioners.

A letter by a pensioner Mr Samuel A. Ajunwa who hailed Mayshak’s prompt payment of pensions, also commended her conduct of verification exercise, and commitment to pensioners welfare. Some pensioners have expressed displeasure over their ill treatment since Mayshak left office and also expressed fear that the management of pensions under the defined benefit scheme which Mayshak upheld may not live up to its mandate.

While the Ministry of Finance has promised to make public the findings of the investigative panel set up to look into the issues leading to the suspension, it must also be remembered that the Nigerian-Canadian civil servant, Nellie Mayshak, spent years working for the government of Ontario and there was no single accusation of stealing and corruption.

This outstanding public sector reform expert, that has worked in the Canadian Public service, and in presidents’ offices across Africa such as Ghana, Liberia, Sudan, Kenya and South Africa amongst others deserves much more than tarnishing her hard earned reputation.

If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.  Charles Caleb Colton, once said, “Truth can hardly be expected to adapt herself to the crooked policy and wily sinuosities of worldly affairs; for truth, like light, travels only in straight lines.”

Eleojo a retired civil servant,  she wrote from Lokoja