By Nkechi Eze
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has sought the collaboration of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to tackle pension fraud, particularly the failure of some employers to remit mandatory pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries.
According to an official statement signed by the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, made the request on Thursday during a visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, where she led a delegation from the Commission.
Oloworaran expressed concern over the growing incidence of employers withholding pension contributions instead of remitting them into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of their employees, as required by the Pension Reform Act 2004.
She explained that some employers not only default on their mandatory 10 per cent contribution but also deduct the required eight per cent contribution from employees’ salaries without remitting the funds to their retirement accounts.
According to her, the practice constitutes a serious threat to workers’ financial security and undermines their entitlement to retirement benefits.
Commending the EFCC for its efforts in combating corruption, the PenCom Director-General expressed confidence in the Commission’s capacity to investigate the alleged infractions, recover the outstanding funds and ensure that defaulting employers are brought to justice.
“Employees are stealing from Nigerians. And we need a way to recover these monies from them. We are looking for a more effective way to manage this situation. We believe you can help us. We think that the EFCC is better placed to manage this issue,” she said.
Also speaking, the Acting Director of PenCom’s Compliance and Enforcement Department, Ahmed Lawan, identified the non-remittance of pension contributions deducted from workers’ salaries as a major concern, noting that the practice had denied many retirees their legitimate benefits and subjected them to untold hardship.
He called for an effective framework of collaboration between PenCom and the EFCC to address the situation and ensure compliance with pension regulations.
Responding, the EFCC Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, described the practice as fraudulent and assured the PenCom delegation that the Commission would investigate the allegations and ensure that those responsible were brought to justice.
Olukoyede, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Commander of the EFCC, CE Michael Nzekwe, said the matter would receive accelerated attention, adding that the Commission was determined to rid the pension industry of fraudulent practices.
“That’s fraud. We have had to deal with such issues before now. We will deal with this one also. We will look deeply into it; and I can assure whatever needs to be done would be done to ensure all the outstanding monies are recovered,” he stated.
The EFCC chairman further assured that the Commission would take necessary steps to facilitate the recovery of outstanding pension contributions and protect the retirement savings of Nigerian workers.
