Pension - NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Philip Daniel Yatai
Feb, Wed, 2025

How ICPC recovered N20bn ghost workers’ pension deductions in 2024 – Chairman

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By Isaac Aregbesola

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it recovered over N20 billion in pension deductions from the salaries of ghost workers in 2024.

The Chairman of ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu, said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a breakfast meeting with some members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

Aliyu said that the commission also arrested some people who specialised in inserting names of their cronies into the Federal Government payroll.

According to him, while deductions for workers’ pension are remitted to Pension Fund Administrators, the same cannot be said for ghost workers’ pension.

“Any deduction made on ghost workers cannot go to any Pension Fund Administrator.

” It will be hanging; so that was the N20 billion recovered.

“We have been able to track and recover this amount of money and we also identified people that are inserting ghost workers in the system.

“We even discovered that somebody put his wife, his son and his inlaw on the payroll.

” He is a 15-year-old boy. We arrested him.

“ These are some of the challenges that we are trying to see that we tackle.

” We don’t want to allow this to happen again,” he said.

The chairman further revealed that the commission succeeded in blocking about N50 billion from being diverted by some public officers in 2023.

While seeking the support of the media in achieving the commission’s mandate, he said that the anti-graft agency had put in place strategies to fight corruption.

He said that the commission was trying its best to achieve its goal, adding that it would not hide information or compromise on enforcement

“As we are empowered and regarding the issue of enforcement, we will ensure that we share verified information through reports, newsletters and press releases on our website and social media.

“Last year, we had an event whereby we unveiled the Strategic Action Plan 2024-2028

” Our strategic Action Plan is in line with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.

“We would always be proactive in making sure that we don’t allow certain things to happen so that we don’t go chasing shadows,” he said.

The chairman, however, advocated a review of the nation’s laws to make corruption less attractive.

According to him, anyone found guilty of corruption should not benefit from it as in some jurisdictions.

Aliyu said such persons should be made to pay the full amount involved into public coffers with interest and barred from holding public office for as long as 10 years.

He urged Nigerians to stop eulogising corrupt people, saying this had been at the heart of the rot in society.

He pledged to transform the commission to a leading anti-graft agency in the country with the mutual relationship established with the media.

“Our partnership with the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has greatly improved our anti-corruption communication and public engagement efforts.

“We salute your commitment to the crusade against corruption and our successful efforts in 2024.

“We believe that our combined professional integrity would lead us to achieve more in our mandate of mass mobilisation against corrupt practices in Nigeria,” he said.

Miss Hussaina Akila, the Director of News, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, in her remarks, lauded the ICPC chairman for initiating the forum.

Akila, however, urged the anti-graft agency to ensure comprehensive insurance of its operatives, saying this would boost their morale.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by editors and bureau chiefs from the northern part of the country. (NAN)

Edited by Mufutau Ojo

Ismail Abdulaziz
Nov, Wed, 2024

Economy/Business

Police exit from contributory pension huge risk- PenOp

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By Nana Musa

The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), has expressed concerns over proposals from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS).

Mr Oguche Agudah, the Chief Executive Officer of PenOp, voiced the concern on Tuesday in Abuja during a public hearing on a bill for an act to establish a police pension board.

He said that the CPS operates on a pre-funded model with both employees and employers contributing a mandatory percentage of the employee’s salary.

Agudah said that usually, a minimum of eight per cent from the employee and 10 per cent from the employer, totaling a minimum contribution rate of 18 per cent, is usually gathered.

He said that either party had the latitude to contribute a higher percentage, which allows pension funds to accumulate and be invested for future payouts.

Agudah said that the National Pension Commission (PenCom), as of September, had a total pension assets, under the CPS, that had exceeded ₦20 trillion (approximately $12 billion),

He said that PenCom had ensured that the funds were not solely reliant on government budgets, thus reducing vulnerability to fiscal constraints.

Agudah said that the transitioning to the DBS would not solve the police’s concerns.

“It will, rather, create deeper financial and operational challenges for the country,” he said.

He said that the CPS had proven to be a transparent, sustainable and resilient system for managing pensions, benefiting both retirees and the broader economy.

Agudah said that reverting to the DBS model, which relies on government budgetary allocations, would lead to fiscal unsustainability and delayed payments for pensioners.

“Moving the police out of the CPS will require a staggering N3.5 trillion annually to fund pensions for approximately 400,000 personnel, in a budget already burdened by deficits. This is simply unsustainable.

“It will also divert resources from other critical needs, including minimum wage adjustments and public services,” he said.

Agudah said that pension funds under the CPS are currently invested in bonds, infrastructure and other critical sectors that contribute to the country economic growth.

He said that unwinding the investments to accommodate a DBS for the police would erode the value of assets and destabilise the financial system.

Agudah said that the CPS currently holds over N21 trillion in assets, and remains a critical component of the country’s economic infrastructure.

He said that maintaining the police within the CPS would ensure long-term sustainability, equity and economic stability.

Agudah said that setting a dangerous precedent was not good.

“If the police exit the CPS, other public sector groups may demand similar transitions, fragmenting the pension system and undermining reform efforts.

“And our key aim and our key goal is to ensure that all pensioners are paid on time, all pensioners have a living pension, and everybody gets their pension on time.

“What we heard at the hearing is actually a joy to us because what we are seeing is that even the sponsor of the bill is on the path that it is not really the CPS that is the problem of the police. It is the welfare.

“So, what we have said is, if your salary is small, your pensions will be small,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ephraims Sheyin