By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari said that the federal government is currently addressing inherited outstanding pension liabilities within the scarce resources available at its disposal.
Speaking while declaring open the third edition of World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special,’ the President said pension matters occupied a strategic place not only as a vital component of social security but also as a vehicle for nation building.
Represented by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, the President said, “Before the reform, Nigeria had large pension liabilities in trillions of naira but now the contributory Pension Scheme has generated over N5.83 trillion of pension assets as at June 30, 2016 which are invested into various sectors of the Nigerian economy”
He said within the twelve years of the implementation, the scheme has to a large extent eliminated incentives for corruption and has stabilized the country’s pension administration system.
The President expressed delight that National Pension Commission is currently working to extend the net to cover the informal sector under the micro pension scheme, adding that the commission had been asked to step up its enforcement drive to ensure full compliance by public and private sector institutions in line with the enabling law.
Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that though he is excited over the success so far recorded in the Nigerian Pension Industry, further innovations must be undertaken with caution.
Pension assets, according to him, must be preserved “no matter what we do.”
“I like innovation, but innovation must be with caution; we can’t be too adventurous. Pensioners must have access to their money whenever they needed it,” he said.
In his remarks, the co-founder of World Pension Summit, Mr. Eric Eggink, said efforts should be made to utilise the advancement of modern technology to significantly boost pension participation.
He said products like micro pension and the provision of online access to pension products an innovation that covers the threshold to accommodate players in the informal sector would be a great boost to the growth of the sector.
The Director General of National Pension Commission, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said part of the expectations of the summit would be to brainstorm on ideas and experiences on innovative practices in pensions and social security to advance the African agenda of addressing economic and social challenges.
