PenCom, NASS Refute N9bn Probe Rumour
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the National Assembly (NASS) have dismissed online media reports that the Commission was under probe over several infractions, including alleged N9 billion expenditure on salaries.
The reports claimed that recent findings by the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Pensions revealed some infractions at PenCom under the Acting Director General, Aisha Umar-Dahir.
The reports had also alleged that PenCom was indicted by the Committee for spending N9bn on salaries of 386 staff, spending N12.3bn without approval by NASS, and that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) was probing PenCom.
However, the Head of PenCom’s Corporate Communication, Mr. Peter Aghahowa, told Daily Trust that the allegations were old and false and that PenCom had debunked them in the past.
Commenting on allegations of delays in payment of pension due to the pay of PenCom staff, Aghahowa said those peddling such allegations are ignorant on how the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) works, saying funds used to pay pension is not used to run penCom.
Chairman of the Joint Senate and House of Representatives’ Committee on Pensions, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, also debunked alleged indictment of PenCom and its management by the committee or recommending that the commission be probed by the ICPC.
The lawmaker said there was no investigation on PenCom for any wrongdoing, adding that the committee lacks the power to instruct ICPC to probe the commission and that NASS would have referred the Acting DG of PenCom to the Presidency if she was found culpable of the alleged act.
“It is totally false and to think that somebody somewhere is trying to frame the Acting DG for reasons best to known to them is too bad. But as far as we are concerned, we have no issue, needless recommending her for probe,” he said.
Economic Confidential fact checked the claim that PenCom spent N9bn on salaries of 385 staff members from the Commission’s N12.28bn revenue in 2019 and found that it was not true.
