Ekeazor
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Chuks Udo Okonta
Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) says it may take legal action including the involvement of the Attorney General of the Federation and agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to recover over N25 billion legacy funds and assets that is still being owed by nine Insurance companies
Its Executive Secretary, Sharon Ekeazor, said this at the 2017 National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) annual conference in Lagos. She noted that following the consolidation of treasury funded parastatals’ pension by PTAD in August, 2015, the Federal Government discontinued the release of pension intervention funds to insurance companies.
She said it is in the fulfillment of its mandate under the Pension Reform Act, that PTAD has taken over the administration of Legacy Funds and assets in the custody of insurance companies and has directed the concerned 12 insurance companies to transfer all Legacy Funds and assets in their custody to PTAD.
Ekeazor noted that an amount well over N25 billion is still being owed by some insurance companies, stressing that PTAD had given the insurance companies one year in which to repay the monies owed taking into consideration the fact that the monies have been with them since 2015 and they knew they were to hand over to PTAD since then.
“While some of the affected companies complied, some of them said they will not be able to meet the deadline of December 2017. Among Companies that have complied are, Leadway Assurance with full payment of N33.3 million, AIICO Insurance complied in the form of transferring properties and investments worth N1.5 billion and NICON Insurance substantially complied transferring fixed assets worth N13 billion to PTAD.
“The value placed on them are yet to be verified and reconciled. The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing is carrying out the valuation of those assets to determine their actual value,” she added.
She posited that as at 31st August, 2017, the sum of N6,422,695,461 is in the Legacy Fund (e-payment) with the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that PTAD has entered the enforcement stage in the recovery process against defaulting insurance companies.
According to her, the final Demand Notice was served last month and that PTAD is liaising with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for regulatory support.
She said if the companies failed to comply, PTAD may be compelled to take legal action including the involvement of the Attorney General of the Federation and agencies such as the EFCC and ICPC to recover the funds.
