Imo government frowns at fraud in state pensions’ board, accuses staff

The Imo State Government says it has begun the process of sanitizing the State’s Pension Board to tackle rising cases of fraud in the system.

The state’s Commissioner for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Mr Ford Ozumba, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen, in Owerri, on Monday.

The Labour Commissioner who frowned at reports of fraudulent activities in the Board regretted that some staff of the board were “responsible for the excesses”.

He described the situation as regrettable, adding that the government wasted no time in engaging seasoned hands to prevent the Board from becoming a centre for fraudulent activities.

”When we came in, we discovered the incredible fraud in the pension system, a situation which was bleeding the state.

”We hired the services of a seasoned finance expert who had spent all her life in the military, and with all the precision that comes with managing military finance, we have gotten the desired results “, he said.

He, however, called on workers and pensioners to support the government’s efforts at restructuring the pension system adding that “every successful retiree would eventually benefit from a functional system”.

He thanked the state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, for all the support he had received since assuming office in January 2022 and pledged to continue to justify the confidence reposed in him.