Pension Administration In Niger: Fact Of The Matter

OPINION

Pension Administration In Niger: Fact Of The Matter

By Abdullah Dauda

It is no longer news that the administration of Governor Abubakar Sani Belllo  in Niger State from 2015  to date has made giant strides in pension administration, it is true that the government  has confronted the inherited challenges associated with pension   from the previous  government with all sincerity of purpose.

I am aware, and it is known to all Nigerlites that   one of  such challenges inherited from the previous  government of Dr Muazu  Babangida  Aliyu is the issue of Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) stopped towards the end  of the  erstwhile government of the chief servant.

Towards the end of the administration, the government  stopped the  contributions  to the scheme,  creating a vacuum in both the employer and employee contribution to the scheme; this development  created  a six-year vacuum. The pressure then, just like now, was from Labour.

When the present administration came in, it was therefore confronted with the problem of the status of the  contributors to  the scheme whereas the number of retirees continued to grow.  Amidst this in 2017, after several  consultation the Pension Law was reviewed to exclude those in the civil service before 1992 from the CPS –a step that was commended by all

Accordingly the government of Abubakar  Sani Belllo through the dogged commitment of the Director General Pension Board  Alhaji Usman Tinau swung into action to refund the contributions of those exempted,  that particular  action  I make bold to say, was unprecedented.

I was not surprised that immediately after the reviewed law on pension was signed in the state ,  the Director General immediately put machinery in motion with the Pension Funds Administrators and interfacing with PENCOM  to ensure refunds to those  exempted , both serving and retired.

And for those of us retired, we were not  only refunded our money from the PFAs as retirees but were paid 30 percent of our total gratuities,  and enrolled into the monthly  pension . This particular smooth transition had once again showed that U T Mohammed has a deep technical knowledge of how to take the state out of the myriad of inherited pension problems

For instance in 2016 the inherited  retirees liability was said to be over N4 billion but the Director General was able to look at it thoroughly and found out that it was inflated thus,  verified it and reduced it to just a little above N2 billion saving the state of over N2 billion.

In the same vein, UT Mohammed and his team were able to ascertain that the CPS deducted from the local government, and State Universal Basic Education  between 2009 and 2012 were not remitted through the board to the CPS.  This made the administration of Abubakar Sani Belllo  to engage a forensic audit firm that confirmed the sum of N5.7 billion as missing. I am pleased that the Pension Board boss announced that the funds have been traced to 15 persons.

The discovery and reshaping of the pension administration in the state has pointed to the fact that the government was committed to ending several teething problems associated therein.

I dare challenge anybody to prove that any government has invested so much in pension like the present regime.  It is therefore surprising that the organised Labour that has been part of the  process for the resumption of CPS was  against it’s resumption.

It is regrettable and  ironic  that the Labour represented  by the NLC and TUC that signed for the resumption  of CPS  in the committee chaired by the Deputy  Governor  Ahmed Mohammed Ketso could turn around  and go against same decision they were  stakeholders.

It is my opinion that it will be more counterproductive if organised Labour allow itself to be associated with deliberate attempts to malign the person of  the Director General U T Mohammed, who obviously brought new lease of life to pension administration in the state and chart a good course for the fulfillment of the campaign promise of Abubakar Sani Bello for competent management of pension matters in the state

There is no gain saying that transparency has been returned to pension administration in the state, with all processes computerised in order to check the former movement of files that can be manipulated.

With not less than 22,000 civil servants in the state civil service enrolled in the Contributory Pension Scheme it is very clear that the state government understands the enormity.

I must commend the governor for also putting in.place the Management Committtee to be headed by  the Deputy Governor, it  is clear that government has put measures In place to ensure safety of contributors money.

Niger State has set up the Management Committtee,  including the Secretary to the state government, Head of Service, commissioner of Finance and Labour as members, this is obviously a practical step to ensure that deductions are remitted appropriately.

It is heart warming to note that, instead of the 7.5 percent contribution by government, the state government is ready to now contribute 10.5 percent to make up for the gap of the stoppage of the deductions. This has demonstrated the honesty and commitment of government to making lives comfortable for retirees.

I am also aware of the appointment of 5 lead managers out of the 19 PFAs in the state to manage separately those of the state, local government, State universal Basic education and 2.5 percent redemption funds.

Moreover I am acquainted with the fact that pension assets as managed by Pension Funds Administrators is the most secured asset in Nigeria today.

Even when government at all levels is faced with challenges of money, the pension assets are always untouchable while making it easy for retirees to access their money in retirement.

The organise Labour should therefore assist the government to strenghten the system instead of picking on individuals who are doing their best to deliver the best to the people.

Considering the fact that the state presently pays N488m monthly as pension to state retirees and N287.5m monthly for Local government retirees, nothing could better appreciated than the effort of the state government invariably that of Pension Board under U T Mohammed as Director General.

It is not fair to always bring down those making sincere effort to change narratives positively , let it be noted that I am neither advocating for the Government nor the Board.

 

– Dauda, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Eastern Bypass, Minna...