General News
Pencom Investigates Complaints Against Operators, Employers
It is within the powers of National Pension Commission (PenCom) to investigate complaints against pension operators and employers of labour, Muhammad Ahmad, PenCom Director General has said.
He stated this while presenting a paper on “Dynamics of the Nigerian Pension Industry” at the conference for Directors of Pension Operators organised by the commission in Lagos recently.
Apart from regulating and supervising pension schemes, he PenCom is empowered to receive and investigate complaints against Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) and employers.
Ahmad listed other roles of PenCom to include formulating, directing and overseeing the overall policy on pension matters in Nigeria, as well as approve, license and supervise PFAs, PFCs and other institutions relating to pension matters.
The commission is also empowered to issue regulations and guidelines; maintain a national data bank on pension matters, as well as enforce sanctions and penalties.
Membership of PenCom includes Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and National Union of Pensioners, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Finance and Head of Service of the Federation.
The PenCom boss also justified the pension reform in the country, saying it was meant to ensure that every worker receives his/her retirement benefits as and when due and assist workers to save in order to cater to their livelihood during old age.
He added that pension reform became necessary to empower workers, stem the growth of outstanding pension liability as well as establish a system that is financially sustainable, simple and transparent.
Pension reform was equally designed to safeguard pension assets and promotes savings, while also establishing uniform rules, regulations and standards for administration of pension matters as well as establishing strong regulatory and supervisory framework.
Although reforms in pension systems are a global phenomena, he pointed out most are complete paradigm shifts, while others are parametric adjustments. Several reasons inform pension system reforms of existing Defined Benefit (DB) or Pay-As-You-Go schemes. the reasons include demographic shifts due to increased ageing, increase of early retirement despite increased life expectancy and improved health profiles among older workers, climbing cost of supporting retirees and huge pension liabilities, as well as the need for sustainability of pension.
The commission’s regulatory principles are to remain and promote the independence of PenCom, to be accountable to all stakeholders and general public, as well as be accountable for its actions and be subject to public scrutiny.
PenCom seeks to mitigate greatest risks to pension assets by adopting risk-based supervision approach, ensure safety and fair returns on pension assets at least cost to all stakeholders, zero tolerance for non-compliance while remaining honest and upright in its dealings.
He further highlighted PenCom’s expectations from operators, saying the directors of pension operators bear ultimate responsibility for good governance, and that the directors must ensure skilled, experienced and competent manpower for their institutions.
Code of Conduct, according to him, are established rules of honesty, integrity and character which are necessary for a Director to hold self as reasonable, dependable and trustworthy.
As trustees, directors are public officers and where there is a conflict between self interest and public interest, the public interest must prevail, he noted.
The PenCom boss added that the operators are primarily responsible to pension plan members/beneficiaries, regulators and then shareholders.
He tasked the operators to compete on the basis of quality of service and returns, adding that they are required to understand and be conversant with laws, rules, regulations and guidelines on pension matters.
With regards to the implementation challenges being witnessed by the commission, he said it has been difficult to widen coverage especially in the informal sector due to lack of incentives, irregular income, paucity of data, and absence of payment/collection platform, among others.
Another problem encountered was in the area of funding and transferring of legacy funds and assets hitherto managed by employers, insurance companies and fund managers.
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) indicted the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and other ministries over administrative lapses that allowed the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) to operate.
Musa Aliyu, chairman, ICPC, stated that NITDA, alongside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Budget Office, and other bodies, failed to carry out adequate due diligence and standard operating procedures.
ICPC said however, clarified that the findings pointed to severe internal control weaknesses and administrative negligence rather than active official complicity by NITDA and the other affected agencies.
The briefing followed a 30-day investigation ordered by the president on July 7 into allegations surrounding the purported presidential council.
The commission also cleared the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any wrongdoing but blamed institutional lapses in several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general, was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal existence.
“As you may recall, on the 7th of July, Mr. President directed the ICPC to conduct an investigation into the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and submit a report within 30 days,” he said.
“Today, exactly within the stipulated period, we have submitted an interim report based on our interactions with all stakeholders involved.”
According to Aliyu, Tinubu directed the commission to make its findings public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
He said the investigation found that Adeyemi’s purported appointment letter was forged.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever,” he said.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency.”
Aliyu stated that a purported government gazette used to legitimise the organisation was also fabricated.
“If you recall, there was a gazette which he used to support the fake agency. That gazette is an illegal document that never passed through the processes prescribed by law,” he stated.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to operate from there.”
Aliyu also revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, fake legislative instruments were used to create the agencies and open bank accounts.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC chairman said the investigation found no evidence that federal government funds were disbursed to the fake council.
“Our investigation found that no funds of the federal government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC,” he said.
“We also discovered no weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria during our investigation. The fake appointment letter did not originate from the presidency.
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to carry out due diligence and failed to comply with standard operating procedures in their ministries and departments. That gave him the opportunity to carry out these illegal acts.”
Nigeria tax system is build on taxing prosperity not poverty, according to Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service
Adedeji, also dismissed the insinuation that the government’s tax reform is aimed at extracting money from Nigerians .
He said the essence of reform is creating an economic environment where individuals and businesses can prosper.
Dr. Adedeji made the clarifications on Sunday night while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he defended the administration’s tax reforms and addressed concerns over rising government revenue amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
According to him, the government’s objective is to tax the fruits of investment rather than the investment itself.
“For us at Nigeria Tax, we are not there to extract. Our focus is not revenue. I don’t want to tax poverty. I’m to tax the fruit, not the seed, and I’m to tax the return, not investment.”
Adedeji explained that the government would generate more revenue as businesses became more profitable, without necessarily increasing the tax burden on individuals and companies.
He said a company that made N100 in profit could generate N30 in tax revenue for the government, but if its profit increased to N200 or N300, government revenue would rise accordingly.
“So, if I want to make more, I must work for you to make more. And that is why it is in the best interest of us in Nigeria Revenue Service that businesses are doing well, individuals are doing well,” he said.
He said the approach was consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, which seeks to remove barriers to investment and create a more conducive environment for businesses to operate and expand.
Adedeji cited reforms in the electricity sector as part of the government’s efforts to stimulate economic activity.
He noted that the Electricity Act had devolved powers to state governments to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, arguing that improved power supply would boost production and productivity across the economy.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam, Nigerian scholar, has been invited to serve as a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam,
The appointment, which covers four years from 2026 to 2029, recognises Oguamanam’s contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines.
The invitation was conveyed in a letter from UNESCO on Saturday, which described the commission as an independent advisory body and forum for reflection on major ethical challenges arising from advances in science and technology.
The letter stated, “Recognising your significant contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines, it is my honour to invite you to become a member of UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology for a period of four years, from 2026 to 2029.”
Established in 1998, the commission brings together experts from different regions and disciplines to examine ethical issues associated with scientific and technological developments, climate change and the environment.
UNESCO said regional balance was important to the commission’s membership to promote multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary debate on emerging ethical challenges.
According to the organisation, the commission provides guidance and recommendations through its reports to UNESCO, its member states, the scientific community, policymakers, civil society and other stakeholders.
Its previous work has contributed to global normative instruments, including the Declaration of Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change adopted in 2017 and the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence adopted in 2021.
UNESCO noted that the commission had recently published reports examining the ethics of quantum computing and space exploration and utilisation.
The organisation said the commission would now focus on new areas identified for its future work programme, including emerging ethical challenges arising from scientific and technological developments.
In inviting Oguamanam to join the commission, UNESCO expressed confidence in his expertise and active contribution to the development of its forthcoming reports.
The organisation also said it expected members to contribute to “horizon scanning” of emerging ethical challenges and help identify issues that should be addressed in the commission’s next cycle.
Oguamanam’s appointment adds to Nigeria’s representation in international discussions on the ethical implications of science, technology and innovation.
He is expected to serve on the commission alongside experts from different regions and academic disciplines during the 2026–2029 term.
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