News
PenCom Reassures on Safety of RSA Contributions
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said it is committed to ensuring that all pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are fully recaptured and uniquely identified on the database to ensure that only bonafide Retirement Saving Account (RSA) holders have access to their contributions.
Mrs. Grace Usoro, Head, National Data Bank Management Department, PenCom, said the data recapture exercise for government agencies remained critical for the commission adding that it would continue until “we ensure that the last contributor that registered before the cut-off date of July 2019 has been fully recaptured.”
About 9, 000 contributors will be required to update their information in order to remain eligible RSA.
Speaking shortly after an inspection of one of the data recapture centres operated by Payone Solutions Systems, in Abuja, she explained that exercise which is undergoing its pilot phase was to enable the agents capture contributors who registered under the CPS before July 2019.
She pointed out that at that date, the commission was able to deploy an enhanced registration system which had inbuilt controls and requirements that met the minimum thresholds set by the National Identity Management Company (NIMC) for registration of individuals under the scheme.
According to Usoro, the development meant that the “contributors that registered before July 2019 did not meet this minimum threshold”.
She said, “So the data recapture exercise has been instituted to afford those contributors the opportunity to bring their records up to date.”
Also commenting on the development, Commissioner Technical Department, PenCom, Mr. Anyim Nyerere, clarified that the essence of the exercise which would be fully escalated by January was to ensure that all contributors under the CPS has an updated information with the commission as well as the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
He said in order to speed up this exercise under the scheme and give opportunity for contributors to update their records, the PFAs had decided to appoint two agents that are approved by the commission to embark on data recapturing which is expected to last about a year.
He said the data capture agents have been “commissioned to do this exercise on behalf of the PFAs.”
Nyerere said, “The interesting aspect of this exercise is that it affords us the opportunity to enable all the contributors that don’t have their National Identity Number (NIN) to use this opportunity provided by this exercise to obtain their NIN.
“There is a symbiotic relationship between the agents operating this with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). The agents are authorised to register people and obtain their NIN and NIN registration is a prerequisite to data recapture”.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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