By Precious John-Aziken

STAKEHOLDERS in the nation’s pension sector have raised alarm over alleged plot by vested interests to destroy the gains of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS and its regulator, National Pension Commission, PenCom, urging workers and pensioners to be wary of the antics of such interests.

Speaking through the Centre for Humanity, CFH, the stakeholders specifically faulted recent allegation of corruption against the Commission by Centre for Public Accountability, CPA, describing it as “fallacious and self-serving.”

CFH, in a statement in Asaba, Delta State, while urging President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the frivolous allegations, called on PenCom not to be distracted in its effort to reposition the pension industry and host the World Pension Summit- Africa Special, which it said Nigeria needed to attract foreign investors to reboot the economy in this time of recession.

CFH’s spokesperson, Mrs. Ngozi Ogbu, accused CPA of crass ignorance of the pension industry and serving the interest of persons who have been indicted by PenCom for monumental fraud and are currently being hunted by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

CFH said: “The allegations of fraud and irregularities were false alarm and unpatriotic act aimed at discrediting and watering down the ongoing collaborative efforts of PenCom and EFCC to bring pension law offenders to book. The allegations, narratives, figures and law citations dished out by the CPA against the pension industry and PenCom, clearly portray them as an ignorant group dabbling into an unfamiliar terrain and one that is out to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.

“CPA lied that pension assets stand at N5.4 trillion, whereas indeed it stood at over N5.8 trillion as at July 2016. Instructively, the Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who is the target of the CPA’s smear campaign, met the pension assets at N3.2 trillion as an acting DG in December 2012, but under her leadership and strict regulatory stance, pension fund had grown to N5.8 trillion as at July 2016.

“It is also noteworthy that labour, which is a key stakeholder in the pension industry recognised her disciplined management of PenCom and pension resources by conferring on her the Trade Union Congress, TUC, “Excellent, Visionary, and Emphatic Leader” Award at the Union’s 2016 Triennial Congress.

“It should worry well meaning Nigerians that these baseless accusations and false alarms are coming on the heels of the renewed crackdown on pension law offenders by the combined efforts of the EFCC and PenCom.”