Pencom partners EFCC in fight against pension fraud

The National Pension Commission has partnered with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to address incidences of fraud in the Nigerian pension sector.

Speaking at the sensitization workshop on the “Eradication of Pension Fraud in Nigeria”, the director-general of PenCom, Aisha Dahir-Umar noted that the problems of fraud and mismanagement in the pension sector had necessitated the pension reform of 2004 by the Federal Government, which was later reviewed and re-enacted in 2014.

According to her, the Commission in pursuant to its statutory mandate under Section 23(f) of the PRA 2014, has developed and established structures, systems and procedures that ensure transparency, accountability and efficiency in the administration of pension in Nigeria.

She said, “These measures substantially restored credibility and confidence in Nigeria’s pension systems. Thus, we have today, an industry that has accumulated pension assets in excess of N13 trillion, invested in various aspects of the economy and still growing.

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“However, as is the case with every human endeavour, retrogressive elements continued to exploit procedural gaps in the operations of pension practitioners in both the CPS and DBS to the detriment of the unsuspecting public.”

She stated that new issues and challenges have continued to emerge in the sector, which places a special responsibility on the regulators, the operators and other stakeholders to constantly review their operating environment with a view to finding solutions to address the problems.

According to her, while all concerned institutions explore the various options available to them in tackling the menace, the continued collaboration with the EFCC would certainly serve as a catalyst for reducing the menace of fraud in the pension industry to the barest minimum.

In his remark, the Director of Operations EFCC, Abdulkarim Chukkol, disclosed that the Commission has so far investigated pension fraud cases amounting to N157 billion.

He noted that urgent reform was needed to deliver an efficient, effective and sustainable pension administration system in the country.