Chuks Udo Okonta
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has debunked the
reports by some media outfits that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has arrested one of its junior official
with fifty bank accounts.
A statement by its Head, Communication Unit Emeka Onuora,
said no official of PenCom is involved in any form of looting of pension fund,
adding that officials of PenCom do not have access to pension funds, which as
stipulated by law are held by Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs).
He said: “The attention of the National Pension Commission
(PenCom) has been drawn to some media publications stating that the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has arrested a
junior PenCom official with fifty bank accounts.
“The write-ups appeared in some national newspapers with
various headlines giving an impression that there was looting in PenCom.
“The stories quoted the ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, as saying
that there were serious cases of fraud running into billions perpetrated by
junior officials in the Pension Commission but that only top officials were
given attention in the chase for corrupt officers.
“The Commission wishes to state categorically that no
official of PenCom is involved in any form of looting of pension fund. The
Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) was created by the Pension Reform Act of
2004. The reform came into being when it became obvious that the Pay As You Go
pension system could no longer fulfil the expectations of retirees in the
country as it was fraught with irregularities and fraud that led to non-payment
of benefits to pensioners who had hitherto served the nation meritoriously.
“The CPS is based on individual Retirement Savings Accounts
that is managed by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and supervised by the
National Pension Commission. Its funding is on monthly deductions from
employees’ salaries and the equivalent contribution by the employer. The
pension fund assets are held by Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) licensed by
PenCom.
“The CPS is predicated upon structures that have adequate in-built
control mechanism to prevent fraud. Under the CPS pension funds are not left
with employers but are did not credit abinitio directly to the individual
Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of beneficiaries and the employer, the
Commission nor does the Pension Fund Administrator have access to the money.”
He noted that there are safeguards to protect the pension
funds from all forms of misappropriation with the functions of custody and
administration of the funds clearly delineated. While the PFCs are in custody
of the pension funds, the PFAs manage and administer the funds.
Onuora noted that PFAs and PFCs are mandated by the
Commission to maintain high levels of transparency and accountability, such
that enable individual RSA holders to have full access to any information relating
to their pension contributions.
He said the Commission has also put in place, strict regimes
for investments and pay-out from the pension fund, stressing that such regimes,
which include daily monitoring of investment activities of PFAs by the
Commission and the institution of strict pay out authorization requirements,
ensure that PFAs are prudent in their investment decisions and that only
bonafide beneficiaries have access to their retirement benefits.
“It is pertinent to note that there are enough checks and
balances for contributors’ fund under the CPS which PenCom directly supervises.
The Commission is constrained to clarify the issues in order to set the records
straight as well as educate and assure contributors and the general public
of the robust legal and institutional frameworks established to ensure the
safety of pension assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme,” he said.
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