The Nigeria Labour Congress has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cease making excuses and to officially inaugurate the board of the Pension Commission. This statement was made by NLC president, Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday.
This plea comes in light of reports indicating that both Pencom and Tinubu’s administration have yet to establish the Pencom board.
In response, Ajaero stated that the failure to form the Pencom board reflects a lack of transparency from the federal government under President Tinubu. The NLC emphasized that the federal government has made mistakes in managing workers’ pension funds.
“Perhaps what Pencom has not communicated to us are the specific actions taken by the Federal Government to resolve the issue of the Pencom governing board remaining unconstituted and un-inaugurated for over five years.
“This detachment strikes at the core of the transparency issues surrounding pension fund management. The fundamental problem with transparency in Nigeria’s pension fund management is a dysfunctional governance structure resulting from the absence of a constituted pension governing board. If Pencom’s management expects the public to overlook this serious oversight, the NLC leadership will not, despite any overwhelming patronage.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress is acutely aware of its significant role in establishing and shaping the current pension system in Nigeria. We do not require a lesson on this matter. What we seek is a commitment from the Federal Government that the efforts of Nigerian workers through trade unions to create a robust contributory pension scheme will not be undermined by the issues of poor accountability and oversight that led to the collapse of the previous defined benefit scheme. What is so challenging about forming the PenCom board?
“Having acknowledged, albeit without humility, that the government has significantly erred by managing workers’ funds without the necessary oversight from the working class through representation on the PenCom governing board, the management of Pencom should rise above