ALTHOUGH the Pension Reform Act 2014 has been widely hailed by Nigerians, especially the labour and pensioners as a bold step in the right direction, one of the worries expressed by virtually everybody has been the question of implementation.

For instance, a statement issued by the Federal Universities Pensioners Association, FUPA, on the Act stated that “While the Pension Reform Act 2014 stands out as the most aggressive offensive by any Nigerian government against pension thieves, FUPA is, however, mindful of the culture of fine laws and poor enforcement bedeviling the country.” Concerning the judiciary also, the body wants the courts to ensure that the law bites hard by meting out prescribed punishments to offenders speedily and without fear or favour.

These worries are not unfounded. For instance, Section 30(2) of the defunct Pension Reform Act 2004 provided for the Pension Transition Arrangement Departments (PTADs), which would have prevented/curbed the multi-billion naira corruption befouling the Pension Departments in the handling of benefits meant for pensioners under the Defined Pension Scheme, DPS (that is, those who retired before the take of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, in 2004). It is supposed to ensure that pensions travel directly from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to the pensioners account, not the Pension Departments. But the PTADs were left unpowered for 8 good years until the coming of Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu as the Acting DG of PENCOM in December 2012. In fact, a Director-General for the PTADs was only appointed in November 2013, nine years after, following her enforcement and repositioning drives in the sector.

Nigerians have also watched the bizarre drama in the courts in which pension looters get a pat on the back or totally evade punishments because of the corruption in the prosecution and judicial system. The case of one convicted fraudster who was handed down a paltry N750,000 (seven hundred and fifty thousand naira) fine for stealing N23 billion has remained a reproach to judiciary.

Although there are no more legal rooms for such crooks to get away so easily given a biting regime of offences and punishment regimes enshrined in the Pension Reform Act 2014, the popular reactions to the new law has been that we need a no-nonsense man or woman at the helms of the PENCOM to drive the reforms in the manner intended by the Act.

It is against this backdrop that the recent nomination of the Acting Director-General of the National Pension Commission, PENCOM, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu to the Senate for confirmation as substantive DG of the agency has left no one in doubt of President Goodluck Jonathan’s determination to totally overhaul the sector. She not only knows the nation’s pension system inside-out, but has the youthfulness, integrity, and experience to bring about the new era the nation yearns for.

This is in line with Subsection 2(d) of the Act, which stipulates that “The Director-General shall- possess relevant and adequate qualification in pension matters with 15 years cognate experience.”   Of course, the decision to review the qualification for membership of the governing board of the Commission was informed by a clearheaded consideration of the submissions of stakeholders during the joint public hearing of the Senate and the House of Representatives; global best practices; the Constitutional provisions for the appointments of some of the top-notch judicial officers and public servants; and other comparative finance and investment regulators like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).

It is noteworthy that Mrs. Anohu-Amazu has been a key player in the pension industry over the years. She was part of the team of experts (the Fola Adeola Pension Reform Committee) set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to midwife the Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria. The work of that Committee led to the enactment of the Pension Reform Act 2004. She received a presidential commendation for the quality of work done. She was later appointed as the first Commission Secretary/Legal Adviser of the PENCOM. But before her pension odyssey, she consulted for many private sector initiatives, non-governmental organizations, and public institutions including the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

Mrs. Anohu-Amazu holds a LL. B. in Law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A member of the Bar and a Master’s degree in Telecommunication & Information Technology Law from the London School of Economics, she is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London and has attended the Executive Education programme in the Wharton Business School, Pennsylvania where she
obtained certification in “Negotiations: Bargaining for Advantage”.

She obtained another certificate in “Leaders in Development: Managing Economic and Political Change” from the Kennedy School of Government and had sort knowledge at the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University. All these explain her giant strides at PENCOM since her appointment as the Acting Director General of the agency in December, 2012. Through the President’s super support and encouragement, she has successfully championed a major review of the Pension Reform Act 2004, which resulted in the Pension Reform Act 2014.

Very notably, under the leadership of Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, pension asset has risen from N2.9trillion in December 2012 to N4.1trillion as at December 2013 due to her robust drive for compliance and enforcement. As an upshot of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Economic Transformation Agenda, Mrs. Anohu-Amazu has no doubt continued to stimulate the development of secure investment vehicles for pension funds to impact on the ongoing Government efforts at reducing Nigeria’s infrastructure gaps. She facilitated the hosting of the resoundingly successful World Pension Summit in Nigeria and indeed Africa for the first time.

All these and more are the reasons her nomination, when confirmed by the Senate, will indeed be a befitting icing on the new pension era.

Maureen Oyeleye, a public affairs analyst, lives in Abuja