The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) has unveiled new executives to drive its activities.
The association said the executives were elected at its Annual General Meeting, which was held in Lagos recently.
A statement by the association said the Managing Director, AIICO Pensions, Eguarekhide Longe, was elected as the chairman to replace Misbahu Yola.
Others are: the Managing Director, Progress Trust CPFA Limited, Mrs. Helen Lawani (vice-chairman/head, training and education); the Managing Director FUG Pensions, Mr. Usman Suleiman (head, branding and communications); and the Managing Director, AXA Mansard Pensions, Dapo Akisanya (head, technical).
The Managing Director, Premium Pensions Limited, Mr. Wilson Ideva, is now the association’s head, legal and regulatory committee; The Managing Director, Zenith PFC, Mrs. Nkem Oni-Egboma, is the treasurer, while Ms. Susan Oranye is the executive secretary.
Oranye was quoted as saying that the association had made significant progress under the former executive, noting that over six million people had now signed up for the contributory pension scheme.
She said, “We’ve made a lot of progress. Now we have 6.6 million contributors in the contributory pension scheme. People are becoming more mindful of preparing for the future, especially the young professionals.
“The informal system will also soon be brought under the contributory pension scheme and we’re very excited about that.”
The PenOp executive secretary, who said there was still a lot of grounds to cover, stressed that the association was prepared for the challenges and would work to ensure that Nigerians workers are prepared for life after retirement.
“We need as many people as possible to join the movement,” she said.
On the ability of PenOp to achieve the goals, she said all the operators under the association were headed by professionals.
She added, “Capacity building and service delivery are key things at PenOp. So, we’re keen about the future especially now that we have new executives.”
Oranye, who described the outgoing chairman as an amazing leader who worked hard to raise the association’s profile, gave the assurance that the new executive would build on the achievements of the past executive.
She said, “Everybody has rolled up their sleeves to work with the new executives. We’re saying, ‘Let’s grow the pension scheme; let’s educate the average Nigerian on the street about joining the scheme, and let’s push the government to release funding for accrued benefits. These are some of the things we want to get done.”
Punch
