Damilola Ayenigba, a student from Kwara, has narrated how the National Pension Commission (PenCom) refused to give Matthew Ayenigba, her father, his gratuity because he could not show a letter of non-indebtedness from a bank.

The student told FIJ that since her father retired from the police force in April 2019, he had been unable to get a letter of non-indebtedness from FCMB, his bank, because he still had a loan to pay.

According to Ayenigba, her father took a loan from FCMB before he retired and paid it monthly from his salary but could not pay it off before he retired.

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After he retired, he went to PenCom to get his gratuity. Even though he gave them his papers, the commission said he would not get his gratuity without a letter of non-indebtedness, Ayenigba said.

With the loan interest growing from N348,000 to N998,000 within three years, Ayenigba said her efforts to ensure her now severely ill father got his gratuity to survive had come to nought.

“The issue we have is the pension office saying they cannot pay his gratuity without a non-indebtedness letter from his bank. And the bank cannot issue such a letter because he is indebted to FCMB because of daily interest accumulation,” Ayenigba told FIJ.

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“I’ve tried everything possible to get his money, but it’s just a wasted effort. My family needs money to sort their lives out. I’m struggling with my health to get a lump off my chest.

“I’ve been to a microfinance bank on this issue, but nothing positive came forth. I’ve called people in the pension office, but they keep asking for the letter.”

FIJ called PenCom via the phone numbers boldly displayed on its websites, but no one answered the calls. The commission had also not responded to a text sent to them at press time.