By Akeem Oduyoye
The Federal Government has restated its commitment to clearing long-standing entitlements owed to public servants affected by the 2004–2007 public service reforms, promising that all verified beneficiaries will be paid before the end of 2026.
The assurance was given on Monday in Gombe by the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dasuki Arabi, during a high-level verification exercise for former staff of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in the North-East who were disengaged during the reform period.
Arabi said the verification was being carried out with the support of key government agencies, including the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the EFCC and the ICPC.
“We are here to verify federal officials who were rightsized during the 2006–2007 reforms,” he said, noting that many affected workers had waited for nearly two decades without receiving their entitlements.
He explained that although thousands were disengaged during the reforms, payments were not made at the time, leaving many unpaid for years.
However, Arabi said the situation had improved in recent years, pointing to the successful verification and full payment of former Nigeria Immigration Service staff.
“In the last two years, we verified Immigration staff here, and all of them have now been paid 100 per cent,” he said.
He credited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the progress made so far.
“We are grateful to Mr President for making it possible to clear these long-standing outstandings and for supporting other victims of the reforms,” Arabi said.
According to him, the ongoing exercise in Gombe focuses on former NEPC staff, which he described as the last major batch affected.
“We are hoping that once we finish this, all of them will be paid,” he said.
Arabi revealed that the Federal Government had virtually completed payments nationwide.
“The Bureau of Public Service Reforms is proud to inform Nigerians that we have cleared about 99.9 per cent of those that need to be paid,” he said, adding that a few cases earlier tied to court actions had now been settled.
Although he did not give exact figures, he stressed that only a very small number of cases remained unresolved.
He also clarified that the current exercise had nothing to do with judges or the judicial sector, saying it strictly concerned the 2004–2007 public service reforms.
Arabi assured Nigerians that all lawful entitlements, including pensions and gratuities, would be settled.
“Everybody that has any entitlement will be paid. Government is doing something about it,” he said.
He admitted that tracing some beneficiaries and next-of-kin had been difficult due to the long time that had passed since their disengagement.
“It’s been almost 20 years. Some people relocated, and agencies lost contact with them,” he said.
To address this, he said the government carried out nationwide radio and newspaper announcements and was working with other agencies to locate affected persons.
Arabi expressed hope that the entire process would be completed before December 2026.
“Our target is simple: everybody should be paid,” he said.
Some beneficiaries at the Gombe exercise expressed gratitude to the Federal Government.
One of them, Yagana Kalama, who was disengaged in 2005, thanked President Tinubu for remembering former staff.