Now on bbc news, our world. You work hard, behave responsibly, save into a Pension Scheme and have a happy retirement, right . Wrong. After decades of saving into government Pension Schemes, when its time to collect, many nigerians across the country get nothing, unless they pay. But while some retired people sink into poverty waiting for their pension, others are raking it in. He is entitled to 300 of his basic pension. He is entitled to four cars, replaceable every four years. One man. Im yemisi adegoke, and i want to find out why politicians are awarding themselves huge pensions while ordinary people are having to fight to get anything at all. Every year in nigeria, dozens of nurses, teachers every year in nigeria, thousands of nurses, teachers and other Government Workers retire, expecting to swap their salary for a pension to support them in old age. My mother was a Healthcare Worker for 27 years and paid into the pension plan. We started looking into claims of corruption around pensions when we were contacted by obaji akpet, a reporter from Cross River State. When she retired last year, she should have started receiving her pension, but she didnt. Like many nigerians would do, i had to step in to support her financially while she waited. She reached out to the Pension Office in calabar to find out why, and she was told she would need to pay some money to get her papers moving. Because she was anxious about her pension, my mother paid 6000 naira. And then, in october, 0baji got in touch with the Pension Office. He, too, told us he was asked to pay a bribe of 10,000 naira, and that is when he got in touch with us. We asked him to secretly film any further interactions he had with pensions officials. Bye bye. Bye. A month later, he was asked to come to calabar by one of the officials. Her name is angela etta. So far, my mother and i have made two sets of payments and we still dont know when she will get her money. According to angela, i need to pay another person in the department. Phone rings. Hi, mrs etta. Alright, bye. I am off to see angela again, this time wearing a hidden camera. Angela tells me the money i have already paid will help move things along. I still dont have a definite date or time when my mother will get her pension, but angela thinks she has done a good job and wants another payment. She describes my visit to her office as a visit to a temple, and she wants an offering. No one actually uses the word bribe, but it seems that payment is expected. Payment to a Government Worker whose job it is to pay out pensions. 0baji does what he is expected to do. Thank you so much. 0k. So 0baji and his mum have now made three payments to angela, amounting to 21,000 naira. But apparently, it is not enough. Five weeks later and with his Mothers Pension four months late angela calls 0baji who is now in lagos, asking for more money. Its for someone higher up, she claims. We have no idea if there really is another higher up person who needs to be paid, or if its just more money for her. How much exactly does he want . What is the guarantee that mum is going to have her papers processed and then shes going to be payrolled. Bring it, bring it, bring it. When we speak to margaret injanuary, one month later, she still hasnt received her pension. I feel so bad that my mum still hasnt received her pension yet. After paying so much, having to go through all the process of bribing her and all, like she demanding so much from us, nothing. Delays in getting your pension or having to pay to get it arentjust problems in Cross River State. They are national. We have heard stories of Pension Corruption at all levels and across nigeria, that Pension Funds are being emptied, leaving nothing to pay people with. And in fact, in 2019, 400 Billion naira was owed to pensioners across the country. We then heard of another way retirees are being denied their money. I am on my way to meet a man whos dead, according to the state. So just tell me a little bit about what you used to do for a living. When 0gah Gabriel retired in 2000, he received his pension regularly until 2020, when it suddenly stopped. Cross River State had suddenly decided Mr Gabriel, like over 1,000 other people in the state, either didnt exist or was dead. I, franka akpeke inok. To get his pension, he would have to convince the Auditor General mrs franka inok, seen here at her inauguration, that he was alive. Despite his medical challenges, 0gah Gabriel made the trip to the Auditor General� s office. Even though he only had photocopies of some documents he was told he needed, he was confident. Another reason he was confident was because he has known the Auditor General since she was a little girl. According to him, the Auditor General was furious. And when his wife spoke up to support him, it made her even angrier. And Mr Gabriel isnt the only retired person who claims they were denied their hard earned pension because Mrs Inok took offence. So each time you went to the office, you have to carry all this with you . Yes, yes, yes, yes. Mrs Ekpenyong Ewa worked as a nurse for 22 years. She had been living off her pension for 15 years when suddenly, In May Last year, it stopped. Like Mr Gabriel, she had to prove to the Auditor General she was alive by going back to calabar again and again. She says six months after her pension stopped, she finally got to speak to the Auditor General. But the Auditor General was not about to reinstate her pension. We heard stories like this over and over again, from all across the state. Pensioners old, sick and out of money, waiting for the Auditor General. Eventually, they had had enough, and on 3 november 2020, they started a protest. All we are saying. We will sit down and wait for her. Once the protest has quietened down, Mrs Ewa says she was taken into a room full of people, including the Auditor General. This apology was filmed by someone in the room and put online. Its outrageous, hearing the story of the 62 year old woman who spent 22 years working for the state government, not only being denied her pension being then intimidated by the Auditor General and security personnel. Fake or � ghost� pensioners are a real problem in nigeria. And the adding fictitious names to the payroll is one of the Ways Money is stolen from government funds. Sometimes, there are more fake pensioners than real ones. The state that cannot have more than 3,000, 4,000 pensioners, have 10,000. Jerry uwah is a finance and businessjournalist, familiar with the problem of pension fraud. But he doesnt think the culprits are ordinary people like Mrs Ewa and mr 0gah. What happens is that somebody will add names of non existent pensioners. That one goes to him the people at the top. Its not something at the grassroots. The people at the top. They will pay those Ghost Pensioners immediately, and the money goes into their pockets. Its not something a clerk can do, because it would be discovered. Its right up there. So, how can states tackle the problem of Ghost Pensioners . Hello, nice to meet you. Kolawole 0luwadare is the Deputy Director of serap, organisation that advocates for more transparency in government. He says technology should be available to identify them. If we have an Id System that is robust and covers everyone, why cant payments be done electronically . Why do they have to come physically, coming great coming to those staying in remote areas. And these are very poor people, by the way. But even if you dont have advanced technology, it still shouldnt take weeks, months, or years to work out who is alive and who isnt. Im in 0kele, which is a community in yala, where last october, this list was published with over 300 names of people declared dead, and as a result, their Pension Payment stopped. 99 of the people there are still alive. The local Community Leader takes me to meet some of those from the list of dead people. Come out. Good afternoon, Mr Cletus . So, your name is Mr Efika Cletus lafin . Yeah. And thats your name here . So, your name is on this list, sir, that says you are dead. Thats the list. Im not dead, madam. I can see that. I can see that youre alive. Mr cletus laughs. So, this is your national Id Card . And this is your name, on this list of people that are supposedly dead, this is your id, confirming you are who you say you are. Mr cletus stopped getting his pension injune, last year. So, how have you been surviving . He has been to calabarfive times. Two weeks . So, youd spent two weeks in calabar, even though you dont have anybody there . You sleep outside . Welcome. Good evening. I can see that your name is here on this list. Yes. It says you are a ghost pensioner, but here you are, alive. Yes. Id card, voters card. She shows us her voter card, it appears to be the same person who is alive and standing in front of me. But its been nearly two years since she last received her pension. While some pensioners are struggling just to get the money theyre owed, there is a group of nigerians who expect a bit more from retirement politicians. Because nigeria is run on a federal system, each state gets to decide a lot of its own laws, which is handy if you run the state. Like the former governor of zamfara state, abdul� aziz yari, who sanctioned a lawjust two months before he retired, which would give him quite a pension. Hes entitled to 10 Million naira every month as � overhead costs� overhead of what . Nobody knows. Hes entitled to 300 of his basic as pension. And yet, this man whose Gratuity And Entitlement has been paid immediately after he left office, theres 10 Billion naira in pension arrears. So, although the state might not have the money to pay ordinary pensioners the Ten Billion naira it owes them, there always seems to be money to pay the politicians. The current government of zamfara eventually repealed this law, but hes not the only Ex Governor to benefit from preferential pension laws. Like lagos did, the governor is entitled to two houses, one in lagos, one in abuja in a location of his choice. Thats what the law says. So, if the governor is greedy enough to demand a house at banana island, buy a land there at 4 Million per plot, then hes entitled to 300 of his basic as pension, hes entitled to four cars, replaced every four years. One man. And thats in some states. That is too much for one man. Hes Spoiling Thousands of pensioners, three years of pensions that have not been paid. Protests recently erupted in enugu state, and the House Of Assembly tried to pass a law that would give Ex Governors and their deputies and their wives an outlandish amount of money and perks for their pensions. Chanting solidarity for ever cars, medical bills, even funerals costs are covered. According to one estimate, it would amount to 900 of the basic annual salary of a serving governor. Serap has been trying to find out through the courts to find out exactly how much politicians get, claiming these laws are illegal. So far, only one state has been willing to disclose any information on their pension law, laws which should be available to the public. It is not only unlawful, it is immoral. This huge hoarding of the finances and the budgets of the state. Monies that could otherwise have been spent on roads, orwater, education, or health. This doesntjust affect older people, it affects everybody. If youre working today and paying into a Pension Scheme, there is no guarantee you will get your money when you retire. Its just basically taking what should be for the people. Its sad, really. It really is sad. The whole of nigeria should be concerned. It is too much. It is far too much. Not many politicians are willing to speak out against their pay. How are you . But Senator Shehu Sani is openly critical. What a typical State Governor takes home, as a pension, can settle the wages of over 3,000 4,000 teachers. So, why should the State Dedicate such kind of money to former governors . Back in calabar, where we started our investigation, Mr Gabriel, Mrs Ewa, mrs akpet, and Mrs Ngboro are finally receiving their pensions, though not all have been paid the thousands and thousands of naira they lost due to their pensions being illegitimately withheld for so many months. Despite years of promises of change from the very top, we found the Pension System still hampered by incompetence and corruption, causing devastation in the lives of elderly and vulnerable nigerians. We put the findings of our investigation to mrs angela etta, mrs frank Inok And Governor Ben Ayode of Cross River State and asked for their comments. They have not responded. Efika cletus died shortly after we finished filming. He had not been paid any of his pension. Hello there. If youre trying to make outdoor plans, you cant really rely upon the weather at the moment. Its the kind of weather where one minute, youll have sunshine overhead, the next, a drenching downpour. Some of the showers on sunday will be really very heavy indeed with Hail And Thunder, but always with some of those sunny spells in between. This is how the first half of the weekend panned out, with showers and longer spells of rain for many, and sunday is set to bring those showers back with a vengeance as this area of low pressure drifts slowly eastwards across the uk. Under the influence of that low, the air will be very unstable. Big shower clouds will develop quickly and readily. In fact, well have showers from the world go across the South West of england and wales. Band of cloud and patchy rain for some areas of North East England and southern scotland, and through the Day Forjust about all of us, it turns into a sunshine and showers day, but some of the showers really heavy with Hail And Thunder and some quite squally winds. And it will be generally quite windy for southern coasts of england and the channel islands. Now, there will always be some places that avoid the showers and stay dry, and in any sunshine, it wont feel too bad with highs of 15 or 16 degrees, although these temperatures are below par for this time of year. Many of the showers will fade during Sunday Night into the early hours of monday, but some will continue. Therell be some patches of cloud, some clear spells as well. Temperatures could get down to around 4,5 or 6 degrees. I think we should just about avoid a frost monday morning. For monday, low pressure will still be in charge. Not quite centred on top of us by this stage, and thunderstorms. Many places will be off to a dry start with some sunny spells, but there showers will become increasingly widespread through the morning and into the afternoon. Again, some will be heavy with the potential for Hail And Thunder. It may well be that some western areas start to dry out a little bit with fewer showers by The End of the afternoon. Temperatures again between 13 and 16 degrees. And as we head deeper into the week, the weather remains very fickle, very changeable. There will be spells of sunshine, but more of these heavy, thundery downpours and temperatures will remain below where they should be at this time of year. People like Mrs Ewa and mr 0gah. This is bbc news. Welcome if youre watching here in the uk or around the globe. Im ben boulos. Our top stories explosion. Israeli warplanes destroy a tower in Gaza Housing international media. Israel says it targeted hamas officials inside the building. Across the world, Hundreds Of Thousands have been marching in solidarity with the palestinian people. The first case of Covid 19 is confirmed ahead of next Weeks Eurovision Song contest. But its back to the beach in parts of Southern Europe as restrictions begin to be lifted. Too Fa Cup winners for the very first time commentator Fa Cup winners for the very first time