Why PenCom boss was sacked

Facts emerged on Thursday night as to why the Director General of National Pension Commission (PenCom), Dr. (Mrs.) Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari.

This is even as President Buhari on Thursday appointed 23 new chief executives officers (CEOs) into National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and other various government agencies.

Ahonu-Amazu, who was was yet to serve out her full term of 5 years as at Thursday, source said, was sacked due to a number of issues surrounding her stewardship in Pencom, one of which was the lack of focus in the pension industry under her watch.

Another reason, the source added, was her high-handedness and inability to understand the future of the pension industry.

Also the unresolved issue around First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL), the source revealed further, may have contributed to her removal as owners of FGPL had accused her of wanting to transfer the asset under management by the PFA to a company allegedly owed by her mother.

Another reason, the source said, was the embezzlement of over N3 billion and falsification of documents of FGPL.

Recall that the controversy trailed Ahonu-Amazu’s appointment as PenCom Director General by the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. She was accused among others of not possessing the requisite qualification for appointment as director-general of the commission, one of which was 20 years’ experience in the Pension industry as set forth in the PenCom Act 2004.

She also had a running battle before she was eventually confirmed as the Director of the Commission by the Senate in 2014 upon amendment of the Pension Reform Act 2004. The amendment paved way for her to be confirmed as Direector General of the Commission.

Before her confirmation as PenCom director General, Anohu-Amazu had been in acting capacity since December 2012, when the tenure of the former DG, M. K. Ahmad ended.