By Precious John-Aziken
STAKEHOLDERS in the nation’s Pension sector, have raised alarm over alleged plots by vested interests to destroy the gains of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, and its regulator; National Pension Commission, PenCom, urging workers and pensioners to be wary of the antics of such vested interests.
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Speaking through the Centre for Humanity, CFH, the stakeholders specifically faulted recent allegations of corruption against the Commission by Centre for Public Accountability, CPA, describing it as “fallacious and self-serving”.
CFH in a statement in Asaba, Delta State, while urging President Mohammadu Buhari to ignore the frivolous allegations, called on PenCom not to be distracted in its efforts to reposition the pension industry and host the World Pension Summit- Africa Special, which it said Nigeria critically needed to attract foreign investors to reboot the economy in this time of recession.
The statement by CFH’s Spokesperson, Mrs. Ngozi Ogbu, accused CPA of crass ignorance of the pension industry and serving the interest of persons who have been indicted by PenCom for monumental fraud and currently being hunted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
According to CFH, “the allegations of fraud and irregularities were false alarm and unpatriotic act aimed at discrediting and watering down the ongoing collaborative efforts of PenCom and EFCC to bring pension law offenders to book. The wrong facts, narratives, figures, and law citations dished out by the CPA on the pension industry and PenCom, clearly portray them as an ignorant group dabbling into an unfamiliar terrain and one that is out to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
“The CPA lied that pension assets stand at N5.4 trillion, whereas indeed it stood at over N5.8 Trillion as at July 2016. Instructively, the Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who is the target of the CPA’s smear campaign, met the pension assets at N3.2 trillion as an Acting DG in December 2012, but under her leadership and strict regulatory stance, pension fund has grown to N5.8 trillion as at July 2016. It is also noteworthy that the labour, which is a key stakeholder in the pension industry recognised her disciplined management of PenCom and pension resources by conferring on her the Trade Union Congress, TUC, “Excellent, Visionary, and Emphatic Leader” Award at the Union’s 2016 Triennial Congress.
“It should worry well meaning Nigerians that these baseless accusations and false alarms are coming on the heels of the renewed crackdown on pension law offenders by the combined efforts of the EFCC and PenCom”.
CFH, while describing the pension industry as a very critical sector, called on Nigerians and those in authority to pursue only purposes that serve the interest of the nation and humanity in general, not those of a few cabals.
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