The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to clearing long-outstanding entitlements of public servants affected by the 2004–2007 public service reforms, assuring that nearly all verified beneficiaries have now been paid, with full settlement expected before the end of 2026.

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms , Dasuki Arabi, gave the assurance on Monday in Gombe while leading a high-level inter-agency verification exercise aimed at identifying officials of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council in the North-East who were rightsized during the reform era but are yet to receive their benefits.

Arabi said the exercise was being carried out in collaboration with 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 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and other relevant agencies.

“We are here in Gombe with a team of public servants from critical federal institutions to ascertain and verify federal government officials who were rightsized as a result of the 2006–2007 public service reforms,” Arabi said.

He recalled that although many officers were affected by the reforms nearly two decades ago, their entitlements were not immediately settled, leaving thousands unpaid for years.

“Unfortunately, all these years, we have not been able to settle their entitlements. Quite a number of them have not been paid,” he said.

Arabi, however, noted that the situation had improved significantly in recent years, citing the successful verification and payment of former staff of the Nigeria Immigration Service.

“If you recall, in the last two years we came here to verify the staff of the Nigeria Immigration Service, and we are glad to say that all of them have been paid 100 per cent,” he stated.

He expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing the progress as a direct result of presidential support.

“We remain grateful to the President and Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for making it possible for us to clear those outstandings that have stayed quite long, and for extending a hand of support to other victims of such exercises,” Arabi said.

The BPSR Director-General explained that the ongoing Gombe exercise focuses on former staff of the NEPC, which he described as the last major batch affected by the reforms.

“Now we are here to verify Nigerian Export Promotion Council staff, and we are hoping that immediately we finish this, all of them will be paid,” he said.

Providing an update on nationwide progress, Arabi said the Federal Government had virtually concluded payments to eligible beneficiaries.

“The Bureau of Public Service Reforms, as the central agency managing this exercise, is proud to inform Nigerians that we have virtually cleared 99.9 per cent of everybody that needs to be paid,” he disclosed.

He added that a few cases previously tied up in litigation had been resolved amicably.

“We had a few cases that were taken to court, but we’ve been able to get them settled out of court,” he said.

Although he could not immediately provide exact figures, Arabi maintained that the outstanding cases were minimal.

“In terms of numbers, I don’t know the exact details, but when we say 99, we mean 99,” he stressed.

Responding to questions about reports of unpaid entitlements in the judicial sector, Arabi clarified that the current exercise was unrelated.

“This is completely different from judges. This was about the public service reforms of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007,” he explained.

He noted that during the reforms, some officers were redeployed or converted to new roles, while others who failed qualifying examinations exited the service.

“Some were converted from secretaries to data officers. Those who failed to pass the exams and upgrade themselves were asked to exit,” he said.

Arabi assured Nigerians that the Federal Government remained committed to settling all lawful entitlements.

“On behalf of the Federal Government, everybody that has any entitlement concerning pensions, gratuity and other payments—I am assuring Nigerians that government is doing something about it and it will be paid,” he said.

He acknowledged challenges in tracing some beneficiaries and next-of-kin due to the long time lapse since disengagement.

“We can’t fully rely on records of beneficiaries or next-of-kin, not because we don’t want to, but because it’s been almost 20 years,” he explained.

Citing an example, Arabi said some agencies had lost contact with disengaged staff who relocated.

“The Forest Research Institute, for instance, had a staff from Michika in Adamawa State who was disengaged. They don’t have contact with him, and he doesn’t have contact with them,” he said.

To address this, he said the government embarked on nationwide sensitisation and inter-agency collaboration.

“Before this exercise, there was nationwide advertisement on Radio Nigeria and in daily newspapers. We are also working with PTAD to see if we can access some of them,” he added.

Arabi concluded with an optimistic timeline.

“It is my hope and my prayer that everybody will be paid before December 2026. Our target is simple: everybody should be paid,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries, Yagana Kalama, who was rightsized in 2005, commended the Federal Government for the initiative.

“I worked at the Maiduguri Zonal Office of NEPC. I am here for the verification. Twenty years ago, I worked with NEPC, and I want to appreciate the President for remembering our efforts while in service,” she said.

Another beneficiary from Adamawa State, Mohammed Abubakar, also expressed appreciation.

“We were disengaged about 20 years ago. We are happy and we appreciate the government and the BPSR for this exercise. Some of our colleagues who were not doing well will now be able to do better,” he said (PUNCH)

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