The pensioners said the development was an uncommon magnanimity, adding that they could now pay their health bills.
The senior citizens had lamented earlier over the failure of the government to pay their pensions promptly.
They wrote appeal letter to Governor Nyesom Wike, who ordered for Biometric Verification Exercise of the pensioners.
Wike paid the backlog of seven months to the pensioners on Friday.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the State Chairman of Nigerian Union of
Pensioners, Edward Abibo, said the governor had saved the pensioners
from dying.
Abibo, who thanked the governor for fulfilling his promise, stated
that the governor paid their arrears from April to October 2016.
Abibo, however, tasked Wike to attend to the issues of pension increase, which the body had presented before him.
The post Good News! Rivers State Govt. clears seven months pension arrears appeared first on Timeofgist.com.
President
Muhammadu Buhari on Monday assured Nigerians that the present
administration’s reforms will ensure that those who spent their
productive years serving the nation will not experience difficulties in
getting their pensions.
According to a statement by his Senior
Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President
spoke during a meeting he had with the Executive Secretary, Pension
Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Sharon Ikeazor, at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Buhari directed a speedy completion of the ongoing nationwide verification of pensioners.
“In a presentation to the President,
Barrister Ikeazor said the PTAD management was determined to restore
dignity to pensioners by protecting their funds and paying their
entitlements promptly.
“The Executive Secretary also said that in
line with the anti-corruption posture of the current administration, the
PTAD has put measures in place to ensure accountability, compliance
with regulations and zero-tolerance for corruption.”
Ruth
Munro's mother Margaret McPartlin died in September 1993, aged 73, but
she claimed she was so upset she couldn't bring herself to tell pension
administrators paid her £18,000
Ruth Munro was told she should have got better bereavement counselling in 1993 (Photo: CS News)
A daughter who pretended her dead mum was alive for 22 YEARS to claim her pension sensationally walked free from court today - with advice to get better bereavement counselling.
Ruth
Munro's mother Margaret McPartlin died in September 1993, aged 73 - but
she claimed she was so upset she could not bring herself to tell
pension administrators.
They went on paying her widow's stipend for more than 20 years - and Ms Munro went on collecting it.
Eventually she netted more than £18,000 in total before she was rumbled.
But
she was spared jail today after a sheriff told her that just being
prosecuted was punishment enough - and that she should have received
better bereavement counselling.
The court had also heard that the money had since been repaid.
Alloa
Sheriff Court heard that Mrs McPartlin was the beneficiary of two small
widow's pensions, resulting from her late husband's employment with the
British Steel Corporation and drinks giant Diaego, which owns a series
of Scottish distilleries.
Ruth Munro walked free from Alloa Sheriff Court (Photo: Stirling Observer) Between 1993 and May 2015, by which time Mrs McPartlin
would have been 94, Munro pretended to administrators of both pension
schemes that her mum was still living.
Forms purportedly signed
by her dead mum were returned, and Munro allowed allowed the pensions
company to believe Mrs McPartlin was still alive.
Ruairidh
Ferguson, prosecuting, said: "The offence involved the accused
representing to the administrators of her late mothers' pension that her
late mother was still alive and still receiving the pension even though
her mother was dead in 1993.
"The amount received was £18,577.81, and that has been repaid in full to the pension companies involved.
"The
offence came to light when the pensions company itself made a check on
the Register of Deaths and discovered that the intended beneficiary had
been deceased for a number of years."
Munro was interviewed in October 2015 and was "candid throughout the process", the depute fiscal added.
Munro,
of Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, now herself a 67-year-old pensioner but
still a carer for a grown up son said to have "severe mental health
difficulties", pleaded guilty to defrauding the pension schemes out of
£18,577 by inducing them to continue to make payments in the belief that
Mrs McPartlin was still alive.
Defence solicitor Harry Couchlin said that it had been "a bizarre and peculiar offence".
He said: "These are sums she should never have received, but
she caused and allowed them to be received, for reasons she can't
understand, and having started, she couldn't get herself out of the
situation.
"The unusual feature of the situation is that the money wasn't spent, it was retained and it was returned.
"I realise that in many circumstances given the level of the fraud,
custody would be at the forefront of the court's consideration."
Sheriff David Mackie interrupted, "That's not in contemplation."
Turning
to Munro, the sheriff said: "This is unusual. At the age of 67 you find
yourself before the court for the first time, and I suspect the last,
in your life.
"On the face of it, this is a serious matter
because it involves a sum of money in excess of £18,000, but what is
unusual is that every single penny has been repaid.
"In fact, you never touched the money, because it sat in your late mother's account throughout the time it was paid to you.
"It makes me wonder that if you'd had more support through your bereavement, this would not have happened - I don't know."
The sheriff added: "In considering disposals, the court has
to have regard to what lawyers call retribution, deterrence, and
rehabilitation.
"In this case there's little call for retribution
- you're not somebody who needs to be punished for this - and this case
is so unusual there's no question of imposing any kind of sentence that
would act as a deterrent to anybody else."
He said background reports revealed "absolutely no risk" to Munro offending again in anyway.
He said: "You present no risk whatsoever to the public.
"It's
enough that you've been put through the process of prosecution. I'll
draw a line under this matter today - you're admonished."
Outside court, Munro, who was accompanied by her elderly husband, wiped tears of relief from her eyes.
She told a reporter: "I'd rather not say anything, thanks."
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has assured
the House Committee on Pension that it would pay additional 33 per cent
arrears to police retirees to bring it at par with other pension
departments.
The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Sharon Ikeazor, said this when the
committee members on pension came visited the directorate in Abuja.
She said that PTAD was doing it in collaboration with all concerned parties and expressed the hope of concluding the assignment.
Ikeazor told the members that PTAD was planning to continue the civil
service verification it started in 2015, adding that it was scheduled
to continue on Nov. 28 in the Northeast Zone.
She explained that the Northeast verification would be followed by the South-south Zone.
Ikeazor urged the house members to visit PTAD verification centres
and have a real live experience of how the directorate was doing its
verification.
On complaints resolution, the PTAD boss promised that the directorate
would continue to address the flight of pensioners who were unjustly
removed from the payroll.
She added that PTAD was determined to bring redress to the pensioners
even as the directorate continued the civil service verification.
According to her, PTAD has reviewed over 9,700 complaints from the Northwest and Southeast civil service verification.
She expressed happiness and announced that 4,137 of the pensioners
would be pay-rolled in November while all outstanding benefits and
arrears to the 4,137 pensioners would begin next week.
Governor Godwin Obaseki
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has
condemned the N300 million mansion retirement benefits for immediate
past governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, and his former deputy, Dr.
Pius Odubu, and called on governor Godwin Obaseki to “immediately
withdraw the bill, and use the funds to clear the backlog of pension
arrears spanning between seven and 45 months.”
This followed reports of amendment of Law for Pension Rights of the
Governor and Deputy Governor by the Edo State House of Assembly, with
the immediate past governor and deputy governor expected to be some of
the beneficiaries. The new amendment contains provision of residential
buildings worth N200m and N100m for the governor and his deputy at the
expiration of their tenures.
The bill also provides that the buildings could be sited in any location of their choice.
But in a statement dated 17 November 2016, SERAP executive director
Adetokunbo Mumuni said: “Coming at a time the Edo State government can’t
even pay its pensioners and salaries of workers, the amendment by the
Edo State House of Assembly is immoral, unfair, unconstitutional,
unreasonable, and a rip-off on a massive scale. Governor Obaseki must
reject this grotesque bill if he’s to fulfil his election promises and
lift millions of Edo State pensioners out of extreme poverty.”
“This so-called proposed legislation means that millions of Edo
pensioners and workers will have to fund the massive and unjust pensions
for former governor Oshiomhole and his deputy and others that will come
after them.”
The statement reads in part: “Many of the retirees whose pensions
have not been paid have been evicted from their apartments due to their
inability to pay their rents. According to SERAP’s information, one of
such retirees is Ihama Friday who at 60 is now squatting with friends.
Another pensioner Osa-Aighobarueghia who retired as a headteacher
continues to live a life of debts because the Edo State government has
refused to pay her 30 months’ pension benefits.”
“SERAP is aware that the Edo State government is not the only state
passing such obnoxious pension laws to provide outrageous retirement
benefits to former governors and deputy governors and that many of them
are already in the National Assembly receiving multiple benefits and
putting their personal bank accounts ahead of the common good. SERAP is
finalising a comprehensive legal strategy to challenge these unjust laws
and to name and shame those who continue to benefit from such laws.”
“Nigerians should not be made to subsidise these bloated pensions and
clearly undeserved perks. Governor Obaseki should not see disadvantaged
Nigerians and poor pensioners according to Orwell’s Animal Farm dictum:
‘All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others’.
Approving the amendment by the Edo State House of Assembly will amount
to a fundamental breach of the governor’s constitutional oath
declaration to serve the interest of justice, common good, transparency
and accountability.”
“SERAP is appalled by this apparently unfair and discriminatory law.
There is absolutely no justification for such law at a time the pensions
systems across the country are in poor shape, and pensioners continue
to be denied the fruit of their labour. Former governors and their
deputies can’t lawfully give to themselves a steady stream of public
funds for life at a time millions of pensioners including in Edo State
face cut to their pension schemes and remain in poverty without any
state support.”
Four states have provided land for the Federal Ministry of Finance FMOF to build houses under a mortgage scheme.
The ??? are to built with pension funds in order to bridge the 77million housing gap.
The scheme is the outcome of a recommendation by a committee
established by the FMOF comprising the Debt Management Office (DMO),
Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Investment Authority, Pencom and Nigeria
Mortgage Refinancing Company.
The Head, Investment Supervision Department, PenCom, Ehimeme Ohioma,
in a paper titled: “Pension funds for economic development: Investing
Pension funds in infrastructure” in Calabar, the Cross River State
capital, presented at a seminar for reporters, said the land and
Certificates of Occupancy were part of the states equity contribution to
the mortgage.
Six other states, he said have also shown interest in the project,
adding that the Federal Government’s aim is to provide land to reduce
the cost of finance and ensure a single digit mortgage.
He said if the government did not provide land and infrastructure, the cost of the houses would not be affordable.
Ohioma said: “There is a steering committee being anchored by the
Ministry of Finance on enhancing the mortgage finance industry. Houses
are going to be built and people are going to be given mortgage to have
those houses. The Federal Government is looking at providing land as its
own equity contribution and what this means is that it will reduce the
cost of finance.
“The target of the Federal Government is that the mortgage rate
should be single digit. If the government does not provide the land and
infrastructure, the cost of those houses will not be affordable to the
ordinary Nigerian that would require them. So, they are working with
state governments starting with 10 pilot states.
“The land and infrastructure is financed by governments and there are
budgetary provisions for this. When PenCom sees that it is working,
then the pension funds will come in. But for now, the government is
financing the initial stage in conjunction with 10 states.
“The last meeting was held some weeks back and as at this time, four
states have already given Cs of O to show commitment to the project and
they will ensure that it is an owner occupier so you must live in the
houses. This will ensure that it goes to the right people. So, if you
already have a house somewhere, searches will be done and your name will
be cancelled from it if you are successful. It must be owner occupier
houses.”
Meanwhile, PenCom has almost finalised guidelines for mortgage to
enable contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to own
their homes.
This is based on the new insertion in the Pension Reform Act (PRA)
2014 that allows Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders to access part
of their RSA fund for payment of equity contribution for residential
mortgage.
He said what this means is that when they come out with the guideline, all the grey areas would have been addressed.
Ohioma said: “The Commission has been in talks with the Nigeria
Refinancing Mortgage Company and other mortgage lending institutions. We
are trying to fine-tune the grey areas because we are aware that if the
guidelines are issued today, the whole seven million contributors,
including the two million that already have their own homes, would want
to just grab the money. Many will see it as an opportunity to just take
their money and this is not the thrust of the federal government for
pension.
“We are coming up with a very robust guideline that will ensure that
the system is fool proof to a great extent. Although you cannot totally
eliminate malpractices, you can minimise it to a great extent that the
purposes to which contributors access and drawdown on the funds are been
met and they are really going into having their own homes.’’
The Trustfund Pensions has lamented the non-remittance of pension funds by both the Federal and State governments.
Speaking in Abuja at the 2016 edition of Compliance Week, the
managing director of Trustfund Pensions, Mrs. Helen Da-Souza, said the
non-remittance of the funds may threaten the implementation of the
pension contributory scheme in the long run.
Her words: “We are not getting remittances from both the Federal and
state governments. By that development, we are restricted to the funding
from the privates sector. Even at that, the funds coming from the
private sector is also very low because of the prevailing economic
situation the country is passing through presently. We now have a lot of
companies not doing very well. Though they are far better than
government, but there are still wide gulp between what we are getting
now and what we should be getting.”
She hinted that the number of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs)
Trustfund has stands at 680,000 while funds under management is
presently over N368billion.
Though, Mrs. Da-Souza continually lamented non-remittance of pension
funds, which has emerged one of the most formidable challenges
confronting pension administration in the country, she lauded the
regulatory body – National Pension Commission – for steadying the ship
of pension administration in the country despite the daunting
challenges.
“I must commend the Director General of Pencom because she is really
engaging the government. The stakeholders believe that she is on top of
the situation. We are hoping that before the end of the year, we will
see something done about the situation,” she explained.
While decrying non-remittance of funds by employers, Mrs. Da-Souza
hinted that Pencom has taken some fresh initiatives aimed at tackling
the practice, saying, “Pencom has taking some initiatives which involve
employing consultants ensure remittances by employers. In fact, we are
seeing employers now remitting even with penalties.”
The Trustfund helmsman also bemoaned inadequate documentation by
workers upon retirement, which has proven difficult to tackle. However,
she was quick to add that documentation process has also improved in the
last few months after aggressive enlightenment campaign and
pre-retirement seminars by the organization.
On her part, the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of Trustfund
Pensions, Rachael Oba-Obi, explained that the theme for 2016 edition of
Compliance and Ethics Week, which is entitled, ‘Provide, Protect and
Prevent’, is aimed at promoting the culture of rules and regulations
observance and what is needed to boost customers’ satisfaction.
She added: “Our job entails protecting the funds that have been kept
in our care. The grating of operational license is not a permanent
thing. The regulator has the right to either suspend operations if the
rules and regulations are not complied with. Therefore, for us
collectively, we are work assiduously that such development does not
happen. Not only do we abhour experiencing license withdrawal or a
threat of it, but also don’t want to do anything that will warrant
sanction or warning for infraction. What the management wishes to
restate during the 2016 compliance week is to continue working together
as a team to render world class service aimed at protecting the funds
under our management and also ensure that we have a growing concern,
which is Trustfund Pensions.”
An
Ikeja High Court on Friday struck out the criminal charges preferred by
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the Founder
and promoter of First Guarantee Pensions Limited (FGPL), Nze Chidi
Duru.
The discontinuance of the case was premised on an application by the
complainant, the EFCC dated September 7, 2016, seeking the withdrawal of
the charge in Suit No ID/2039/2015.
In the enrolled order of the court on Friday, November 11, 2016, the
trial judge, Justice Atinuke Ipaye, struck out the charge as disclosed
on the information dated October 5, 2015 without prejudice.
The former member of the House of Representatives was last year charged
by the anti-graft agency over allegations of defrauding FGPL.
But EFCC in its application signed by counsel to the EFCC, Ayokunle
Fayanju, and supported by a 10-paragraph affidavit, sought to withdraw
the charge against Nze Duru.
The application was brought pursuant to Section 73 of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2011. According to the affidavit
deposed to by Fayanju, the application for withdrawal was hinged on the
review of the case file together with the criminal information before
the court by the prosecution team in the Directorate of Legal and
Prosecution of the EFCC.
The counsel also averred that he had the consent and authority of the
executive chairman of the EFCC to depose to the affidavit.The embattled
Duru was charged to court over allegations of fraud in pension
management contained in a target report produced by interested persons.
He was also charged on allegation of abuse of due process and
shortchanging of shareholders, who entrusted him with funds to buy the
company’s shares.Duru was further accused of diverting N16 million,
being part of the equity contribution of Novare Holding, a South African
firm, to another business without due process and obtaining board
approval as well as collecting N20. 5 million as ‘executive allowance.’
But Duru responded by petitioning the Presidency, alleging a gang-up
against him by the Pension Commission (PenCom) and disgruntled
investors, who are sending the EFCC after him, accusing the pension
industry regulator of being complicit in his ouster from the company.
A major character in the crisis, the Chairman of FGPL, Alhaji Kashim
Imam, subsequently challenged Duru to go and clear his name at the EFCC
if truly he had nothing to hide, noting that it was mysterious that he
was walking free after alleged fraudulent activities were investigated
and established by FGPL, in addition to indictment by PenCom.
Imam said Duru was being wrongly addressed as promoter of the
company, noting, “By 2011, when Duru exited the company after eight
years, following his indictment, the company’s account was in red to the
tune of N385 million.
But following the intervention of PenCom, being the regulatory body,
an interim management and board was formed; the assets of the company
have grown to about N140 billion, with profit of over N3 billion, just
in four years.”
Director General (DG), PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu
Retirees under the Contributory Pension
Scheme will from early next year enjoy a minimum pension payment
irrespective of the balance in their Retirement Savings Accounts.
The Chairman, Pension Fund Operators
Association of Nigeria, Mr. Eguarekhide Longe, disclosed this to our
correspondent in an exclusive interview.
“The minimum pension is going to take up
early next year. We (operators) are supposed to pay three per cent of
our management fees to set up the fund, the National Pension Commission
is supposed to pay another fee and they have already given us a notice
that we must ensure that we put that money in our budget in 2017 and
that it will take up next year,” he said.
Last year, operators of the scheme
proposed a minimum stipend of N14,400 for each retiree in the draft
guideline on the commencement of the minimum pension for retirees under
the CPS.
Longe, however, did not confirm if the minimum pension would remain the same amount.
He noted that pension operators had a
responsibility to make their own contribution to the fund to kick-start
the payment of the minimum stipends, while the Federal Government would
also have to pay its own contribution.
“Pension operators will put forward the
information of the people who are not earning up to the minimum pension
stipend and they can now get the augmented amount from the pension
protection fund, that is how it works,” he said.
The Pension Reform Act, 2014 provided
that PenCom should establish and maintain a fund to be known as the
Pension Protection Fund in respect of the guaranteed minimum pension.
According to the Act, funding of the
minimum guaranteed pension will be partly obtained from an annual
subvention of one per cent of the total monthly wage bill payable to
employees in the public service of the federation and returns from
pension fund investments.
It will also be funded from the annual
pension protection levy paid by PenCom and all licensed pension
operators at a rate to be determined by the commission from time to
time.
The draft guideline, which has been sent
to PenCom by the operators, states that only workers who have
contributed a minimum of 15 years into their Retirement Savings Accounts
will enjoy the minimum pension.
It added that the informal sector and
casual workers must have contributed to their RSAs for 120 and 135
months, respectively before they could enjoy this privilege.
The initiative, according to the
operators, will bring an end to the situation where retirees are paid
abysmally low pensions or paid nothing when the balances in their RSAs
are very small.
Presently, the CPS and the old defined benefit pension scheme are in existence in the country.
Pensioners under the defined benefit scheme have also been agitating for the payment of a guaranteed minimum pension.
Recently, the Nigeria Union of
Pensioners proposed a minimum pension of N25,000 for retirees under the
old defined scheme, but the Federal Government has yet to respond to the
proposal.
The National President, NUP, Dr. Abel
Afolayan, stated, “It needs to be pointed out that many pensioners under
the defined benefits scheme receive less than N10,000 per month. This
can never be regarded as a minimum or living pension.
“With the present economic situation in the country, no pensioner should be paid less than N25,000.”
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PENSIONERS in Cross-River State
have broken into two factions.In fact, leaders of the pensioners have
been fighting for the past five years climaxing into the emergence of a
body that calls itself the Association of Local Government Pensioners,
from the umbrella body of pensioners in the country ; Nigeria Union of
Pensioners , NUP.
The new association caters for the welfare of workers who retired
from the local government services in the state and at present, they
are over 5000 members.
Chairman of the state NUP, Benjamin Ettah, told Vanguard
that sometime in 2012, some retired senior civil servants from the local
government service came to his office to demand that the union
intervene in the affairs of their local body by dissolving it so that
they could find a place in the activities of the body.
Position of authority
He said: “But I told them that I do not have powers to interfere or
dissolve the body since there is no crisis there and if they wanted
to function in the union, all they needed to do is go in there and
gradually rise to the position of authority.”
Ettah claimed that “they also demanded to know how we spend the
dues paid by the pensioners and we told them that the money is sent to
Abuja national headquarters of our union and a percentage is returned
to us to run the affairs of the union. They said how could that be;
that the entire money should be kept and spent by the state chapter.” •Bassey Okosin, Chairman, Association of Local Government Pensioners,CRS•Benjamin Ettah, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Cross River State
He claimed that the delegation visited his office on three
occasions to make the same demand and when he told them the same thing,
he never heard from them again until he was informed that they had
formed an association and had written to the pensions board to start
remitting the monthly dues of retired local government staff to them.
The NUP Chairman said: “They got a letter from the then Attorney
General of the state, Mr Attah Ochinke who stated that under the Labour
Reform Act, retired civil servants cannot form a union and so the dues
should be given to the new association and we went to court and we
have won the case three times.”
He lamented that though the NUP won the case three times, the
pensions board kept remitting the dues of the local pensioners to
the association, saying last month “we got another judgement in our
favour and also asked the court to grant us a motion that the dues
of local government pensioners should be paid to us and that was
granted.”
However, Bassey Okosin, the Chairman of Association of Local
Government Pensioners in his submission, said they decided to break away
from the NUP because the officials at the head of the union in the
state were not interested in the welfare of the pensioners but only in
collecting dues when pension was paid. “We went to them and asked what
they were doing to ensure regular payment of pension to the pensioners
because most of them depend on the pension for their existence and they
told us payment of pension was the duty of government and there was
nothing they could do to facilitate fast payment of the money stipend
and we said no, we had to take our fate in our hands.”
Pension payment According to Okosin, since the break out, local
government pension payment had become regular and the pensioners were
happy with the development, declaring that “in the past, pensioners were
owed months of unpaid pensions but with our consistent efforts, the
pensioners are now paid alongside the workers or a few days after.”
He added that with the new development pensioners in the state
were comparatively better than most states in terms of the payment of
monthly pension, noting “Our presence in the system has contributed
so much towards eradication of the malpractices. We had before now
identified our members monthly before payment and sent the appropriate
names for deletion which has also helped to save some funds for the
government.”
The
National Pension Commission, (PenCom), said that it has reached
advanced stage of unveiling its Micro Pension (MP) project, an
initiative that provides pension coverage to self employed Nigerians.
The
initiative covers three strata levels, the low, middle and high income
earners, targeting 20 million self employed by 2019. The MP project
targets mainly artisans, mechanics, tailors, farmers and other forms of
businesses in the informal sector.
Head, Micro Pensions
Department, Mr Polycarp Anyanwu who disclosed this at a seminar said the
Micro Pension Scheme was an offshoot of the Pension industry 5-year
strategic plan to expand the coverage of the Contributing Pension Scheme
(CPS) to 20 million contributors by 2019.
He said the informal
sector is largely uncovered by any structured pension and represents
over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s total working population in the country.
He said that some of the peculiarities of the individuals that operate
within the Informal Sector inter-alia are: Irregular flow of income,
highly mobile and flexible jobs, Lack of permanent work address, Lack of
official means of Identification and other documents.
He
stated that Section 2(3) of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 extended
coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme to self-employed persons but
for micro pension they have breakdown of family support and there was
need to avert old age poverty.
He said that some of micro pension
features was that it has simplified registration process, flexible
frequency of contribution, easy method of contribution remittance. He
stated that contributions would be split into two, a smaller
percentatage shall be savings and accessible to the contributor while
the greater per centage shall be strictly set aside for pension, adding
that the same individual portable retirement savings account managed by
PFAs and funds kept in custody of the PFCs.
He said that strict
regulation of the investment of Micro Pension funds needed to guarantee
safety and fair returns on investment.
He said the Commission
planned to partner with trade Unions/Associations to assist introduce
members to the Scheme for the Pilot phase while media professionals
expected to assist to enlighten the public and create awareness of
benefits and need for MP.
Apart from targeting that 250,000
contributors would be enroll within 6 months the Commission said it will
test ICT technology to ensure adequacy.
The director general of National Pension Commission (PenCom),
Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has disclosed that the total registered
participants in the Contributory Pensions Scheme has increased to
7,240,196 as at September 2016.
She also disclosed that the outstanding accrued right due to
employees of the federal government that retired between 2015 and
October 2016 amounted to N63.34 billion.
The DG who was speaking at the National Executive Council (NEC)
meeting of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) said a total of 174,
844 persons have retired under the CPS since inception.
The DG, who was represented by the director of surveillance at the
commission, M.B Umar said the number comprised 140,532 retirees on
monthly programmed withdrawal and 34,312 retirees on monthly annuity.
He said, “The monthly pension payment of the retirees were N4.67 billion and N1.72 billion respectively.”
According to him, despite the success recorded, the CPS has some
challenge especially in funding of accrued rights of federal government
employees.
President of NUP Comrade Abel Afolayan, while addressing the National
Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Union in Abuja yesterday
regretted that many state pensioners were being owed over 12 months,
saying that many pensioners across the country are not paid.
Nigeria’s
Contributory Pension Fund (CPF) rose to about N5.9 trillion as at
October 31, Nigerian Pension Commission (PenCom) Director General
Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said in Calabar yesterday.
She spoke at the opening session of the
two-day workshop organised by the Commission for Pension/Insurance,
Labour Finance reporters and Business Editors in the Cross River State
capital.
She said the fund is being invested in
structured and safe financial instruments, adding that it had in its
record, registration of 7.2 million pension contributors; 170,000
retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), among others.
She said these modest milestones
notwithstanding, the implementation of the Pension Reform Act 2004 (PRA)
was not bereft of challenges.
Her words: “We cannot overemphasize that
the relative success of the implementation of the PRA 2004 could
largely be attributed to the fundamental structures upon which the CPS
was built. Indeed, the cardinal principle of separation of custody from
management and supervision of pension funds has resulted in a pension
scheme with sound internal mechanism for transparency and
accountability. Whereas the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) manage
the pension funds, they do not have access to same, since custody is
vested in the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), while the Commission
ensures both parties adhere strictly to regulations governing the
pension funds.
“Indeed, some issues were noted in the
course of implementation since the PRA 2004 and this underscored the
imperative for a comprehensive review of the PRA in order to consolidate
on the Pension Reform”.
She said the re-enactment of the PRA in
July 2014 provided a sound basis to guide the second decade of the
Nigerian Pension Reform. The PRA 2014 sought to ensure that more
tangible benefits accrue to retirees towards a more blissful retirement.
“As we seek to increase registered
pension contributors to at least 20 million by the year 2019, informal
sector participation through the Micro Pension Plan is expected to
provide impetus. The Commission has also enhanced its support to the
States in facilitating their adoption and implementation of the CPS by
providing a bespoke technical assistance, through our State Operations
Department and Zonal Offices in each of the 6 geo-political Zones,” she
said.
The Commission’s Secretary and Legal
Adviser, Mohammad Mohammad, said the Federal Government had yet to
implement the 18 per cent monthly pension contribution, despite its
increase from 15 per cent by the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.
Only a few private sector firms are contributing 18 per cent, he added. .
He said the commission had engaged the
Federal Government in making sure that sufficient funds were included in
the next budget to avoid accumulation.
He said the commission had engaged all
the relevant authorities such as the National Assembly to make sure that
the issue is resolved as quickly as possible.
E-payment service provider, eTranzact International Plc, in collaboration with the Military Pensions Board,
has launched an electronic payment card to offer identification,
verification and rewards to all members of the Nigerian armed forces.
Founder/CEO,
eTranzact, Mr Valentine Obi launching the Military Pensions card with
Minister of Defence, Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali in Abuja.
The
card will allow over 100,000 retired members of the Army, Navy and
Airforce access a biometric military pension card with a 4-in-1 value
proposition: identification, verification, rewards, including receiving
and making payments.
Speaking at a
press conference for the launch of the card in Abuja, the Founder/CEO
of eTranzact International, Mr. Valentine Obi, said: “We
are happy to be key partners in this great and commendable project in
support of our courageous ex-service personnel and military pensioners.
The resilience and courage of the Nigerian military is a source of joy
to everyone and we hope that this pension card project not only solves
identification and verification issues for the military but also gives
the private sector an opportunity to offer special rewards and
discounts.”
According
to eTranzact, the card offers immense benefits to its recipients as it
can be tied to a bank account, attached to a mobile money wallet or
operated as a stand-alone reloadable card. Other benefits like a 5 per
cent discount on airtime top-up, discounts on airline tickets, restaurant discounts, etc., are other benefits thatare possible with the card.
It added that the card schemepowered
by eTranzact, in partnership with Mastercard and Access Bank, allows
holders perform financial transactions at any ATM or POS, and can also
be used for Web transactions.
The
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it is working on a policy that
will ensure that bank customers involved in electronic fraud are either
blacklisted or placed on close surveillance.
The bank’s Director,
Banking and Payment System, Mr. ‘Dipo Fatokun, said this at the October
edition of the Nigeria e-Fraud Fraud Forum (NeFF) held in Lagos at the
weekend.
Fatokun, who is the chairman of NeFF, said the Bank
Verification Number (BVN) would also be used in identifying fraudsters
in the industry.
“We are currently working on a framework using
the BVN to eliminate fraudsters. One common thing about electronic fraud
is that when money is moved from an account, it is moved into another
bank account. So, identifying the owner of that fraudulent account using
the BVN, we would not only be able to identify him or her in the bank
in which he has moved the money to, we would also identify him in all
the banks where he has accounts and when legal impediments are overcome,
such people could be blacklisted or watchlisted in the banking system.
“That
would also assist us a great deal in curbing the menace of fraudsters.
Opening account is a contract. If a bank notices that a particular
customer is fraudulent or is a criminal, the bank has the right to get
him order out of the contract. And another implication is that if an
account is watchlisted when the framework becomes operational, credit
into such account would be withheld. This is because if we are able to
watchlist, we will be able to apprehend and prosecute,” he added.
Earlier
in an address, Fatokun said the world had been inundated with various
news on Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting various
internet destinations such as Twitter, PayPal, CNN, The New York Times
among others. He said particularly worrisome was the fact that devices
used to spread the malware were operated with default passwords which
made it easy for the hackers to guess.
“This goes to show that
increasingly attacks of this nature are becoming common place and the
tactics used, more damaging to individuals and institutions alike.
Seeing that this attack came in a month set aside by the United States
to focus on National Cybersecurity Awareness, we hope that our own
general meeting will not attract similar attention from the fraudsters.
“Social
engineering has become rife in cybercrime attacks in Nigeria. Almost on
a daily basis, a plethora of messages are sent by these criminals with
the express intent to con the unsuspecting recipient using techniques
that appeal to vanity, greed or authority. It is therefore important
that we look critically at measures that will protect the industry as a
whole from the menace of social engineering attacks,” he added.
