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

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

Arabi said the exercise was being conducted in collaboration with the Office of the Head of the 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 (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), 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 disengaged nearly two decades ago, their entitlements were not immediately settled, leaving thousands unpaid for several 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 attributed the progress to the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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

The BPSR Director-General explained that the ongoing Gombe exercise focuses on former NEPC staff, whom 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 hopeful that once this exercise is concluded, all of them will be paid,” he said.

Providing an update on nationwide progress, Arabi disclosed that 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 everyone that needs to be paid,” he said.

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

“We had some cases in court, but we have been able to settle them out of court,” he noted.

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

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

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

“This has nothing to do with judges. This exercise concerns the public service reforms of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007,” he explained.
He said 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, while those who failed to pass the examinations and upgrade themselves were asked to exit,” he said.

Arabi assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s resolve to settle all lawful entitlements.

“On behalf of the Federal Government, anyone with legitimate entitlements, whether pensions, gratuities or other payments, I assure Nigerians that government is addressing the matter and payments will be made,” he said.

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

“We cannot fully rely on records of beneficiaries or next-of-kin, not because we don’t want to, but because it has 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 member from Michika in Adamawa State who was disengaged. They no longer have contact with him, and he also has no contact with them,” he said.

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

“Before this exercise, there were nationwide advertisements on Radio Nigeria and in daily newspapers. We are also working with PTAD to see if we can reach some of them,” he added.
Arabi concluded with an optimistic timeline.

“It is my hope and my prayer that everyone 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 we were 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.