PENCOM DG must come from South-East – Abaribe rejects Buhari’s appointment

The Senate minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has kicked against the appointment of Aisha Umar as Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM).

Daily Times reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had in a letter directed to the Senate sought the approval of Aisha Umar from the northeast geopolitical region as the new director-general of PENCOM.

The president also wanted the upper chamber to confirm the appointment of Oyindasola Oni as chairman of the commission.

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But Abaribe, in a point of order, kicked against the appointment of Umar, saying she came from the northeast in what clearly contradicted the act establishing the PENCOM.

According to the senator, the replacement of Chinelo Anohu-Amazu from the southeast with Umar (northeast) breached the PENCOM laws.

The Senate minority leader insisted that Anohu-Amazu’s replacement must come from the southeast as entrenched in the PENCOM act.

He noted that the president is mandated, according to the act, to make a replacement from the geo-political zone where the member who vacated office came from to complete the remaining tenure

Responding to the Abaribe, Senate president Ahmad Lawan directed the aggrieved lawmaker to channel his grouse to the committee in charge of the commission, saying he (Lawan) has right to interpret the laws.