NLC To FG: Inaugurate PenCom Board Immediately

…says five years without oversight, transparency unacceptable

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to immediately constitute and inaugurate the governing board of the National Pension Commission (Pencom).

This is as the Congress warned that the continued delay of more than five years is unacceptable and undermines transparency in the management of workers’ funds.

In a strongly worded statement, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the Congress would not remain silent while the government continues to administer pension funds without oversight. “A stitch in time saves nine!” he warned.

The statement came in response to a release by Pencom management, which dismissed the NLC’s demands as unfounded while at the same time blaming President Bola Tinubu for the delay and then suggesting that steps were being taken to address the issue.

Advertisement

“The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress considers the response of the Pencom management to the discharge of NLC’s mandate of protecting the rights and interests of Nigerian workers as a little too dramatic.

“In one breath in the Pencom statement, the management dismissed NLC’s demands as unfounded and in another breath, it transferred the blame for the non-constitution of the Pencom board to the doorsteps of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and yet in another breath, the management of Pencom made excuses for the government, positing that the Federal Government has taken steps to address the issue.” Ajaero said.

The Labour leader stressed that Pencom had failed to tell Nigerians the exact steps taken by government in the last five years to address the board’s non-constitution.

“This aloofness goes to the heart of lack of transparency in the management of pension funds.

“At the root of the crisis of transparency in the management of pension funds in Nigeria is a dysfunctional governance architecture stemming from the non-constitution of the pension governing board.” Ajaero said

Advertisement

He argued that the NLC would not fold its arms while the institution overseeing the pensions of millions of workers operates without accountability.

“If the management of Pencom wants the public to ignore this grave misnomer, the leadership of the NLC will not, regardless of overflowing patronage,” Ajaero said.

The NLC boss further recalled the pivotal role of Nigerian workers and their trade unions in shaping the current contributory pension scheme.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress is fully aware of its strident role in birthing and shaping the current pension system in Nigeria. We do not need a tutorial on this. All we need is a commitment from the Federal Government that the labours of Nigerian workers through trade unions to develop a virile contributory pension scheme are not derailed by the demons of poor accountability and oversight that destroyed the old defined benefit scheme,” he declared.

He questioned why the government had found it difficult to inaugurate the Pencom board despite acknowledging its error.

Advertisement

“What is so difficult in constituting the board of Pencom?

“Having conceded without humility that the government has gravely erred by administering workers’ funds without working class oversight through representation in the Pencom governing board, the management of Pencom should go above polemics of excuses and invest its energy in persuading the Federal Government to do the needful – constitute the governing board of the Pension Commission without further delay.” He said

Reaffirming the NLC’s role as a watchdog over government and public institutions, Ajaero said the Congress would never abdicate its responsibility.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress will never shirk from its duty of holding the government to account on the management of public trust particularly workers’ funds. It is simply too dangerous and gravely costly to be silent when a democratic government obstructs representative governance,” he added.

With the prolonged absence of a governing board, the Labour movement fears that transparency and accountability in the pension system are being eroded.

Speaking further, Ajaero warned that unless the Federal Government acts swiftly, the trust of Nigerian workers in the pension system risks being jeopardised.