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Pension fund now N12.66trn –PenCom

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PENCOM

 

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) said pension fund assets had risen to N12.66trn as of June 30, with contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme hitting the 9.38m mark.

The Director General, PenCom, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, said this at the 2021 Journalists Workshop held on Monday in Lagos, with the theme: Positioning the Pension Industry in the Post COVID-19 Era.

Dahir-Umar, represented by Mr. Peter Aghahowa, Head, Corporate Communication, PenCom, noted that the consistent growth trajectory justified the commission’s overriding investment philosophy of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets.

She assured pension stakeholders that the implementation of the CPS remained on course.

Dahir-Umar stated that the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a review of business processes across various organisations, which made it imperative for the commision to deepen technology innovation.

“COVID-19 has engendered socio-economic disruptions of the entire global order, with multifarious challenges in conducting hitherto routine activities.

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“It was, therefore, imperative for the commission to deepen technological innovation to navigate through the challenges imposed by the pandemic.

“The most recent technological innovation introduced by the commission is the in-house designed and developed online enrolment application.

“The application has capabilities to register, verify and enroll prospective retirees of Treasury-Funded Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs),” she said.

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According to her, by the deployment of this new application, mass gathering of people has been avoided while enhancing convenience for the prospective retirees through a seamless enrolment process.

The DG mentioned that another notable technological innovation by the commission was the design and deployment of the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Transfer System (RTS), which was launched in November 2020.

She emphasised that public enlightenment and education was one of the five strategic focus areas currently pursued by the commission.

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“This is considered germane considering that 17 years after the pension reform in Nigeria, there still exists a knowledge gap on the CPS.

“Consequently, the commission is committed to reinvigorating its public enlightenment and education drive in order to address this challenge,” she said.

According to her, other strategic focus areas of PenCom include the resolution of outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government; portfolio diversification of pension fund investments.

She also mentioned improvement in customer service delivery across the pension industry and unrelenting pursuit of sustainable growth of the pension industry by expanding the coverage of the CPS.

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JUST IN: Tinubu, Shettima to pay toll at airport gates

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President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima will now pay the required toll whenever they use the gates at airports.

 

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, announced this to journalists after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting chaired by Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja on Tuesday.

 

 Keyamo said he presented two memos which were approved by the council.

Details later…

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Tinubu suspends 0.5% cybersecurity levy

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President Bola Tinubu has suspended the 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy after criticism and protest trailed the announcement.

 

Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, announced the suspension.

 

Idris said Tinubu directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the implementation and review the modalities for its implementation.

Details later…

 

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Minister to sue Niger speaker over plans to ‘marry off’ 100 girls, says it’s ‘totally unacceptable’

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Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, minister of women affairs, has petitioned the inspector-general of police (IGP) and sought a court injunction to halt the marriage of 100 girls in Niger state.

 

Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, speaker of the Niger state house of assembly, announced last week that he would sponsor the wedding of 100 girls, some of whom were orphaned by insurgency, as part of his Maringa constituency project.

 

He said he had procured materials for the event scheduled for May 24, and promised to pay dowries for the bridegrooms.

 

Following the outcry that trailed the announcement, the speaker explained that he was only financing the wedding — not forcing the girls into marriage.

 

However, Kennedy-Ohanenye said the plan is unacceptable, and that the future of the girls should be a priority.

 

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Monday, the minister said a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the issue will be carried out.

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She said the ministry will take responsibility for the girls’ education and vocational training.

 

“I want to let the honorable speaker of house in Niger state know that this is totally unacceptable by Federal Minister Of Women Affairs and by the government,” Kennedy-Ohanenye said.

 

“Because there is something called the Child’s Right Act and I said it from the onset, that is no more business as usual.

 

“These children must be considered, their future must be considered, the future of the children to come out of their marriage must be considered.

 

“So I have gone to court. I have written him a letter and written a petition to the IG of police.

 

“And I have filed for injunction to stop him from whatever he is planning to do on the 24th, until a thorough investigation is carried out on those girls, find out whether they gave their consent, their ages, find out the people marrying them.

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“As the speaker did not think about empowering these women or sending them to school or giving them some kind of training support financially.

 

“The women affairs have decided to take it up and we are going to educate the children.

 

“Those that do not want to go to school, we will train them in a skill, empower them with sustainable empowerment machines to enable that child build his or her life and make up her mind who and when to get married.

 

“If for any reason the speaker tries to do contrary to what I have just mentioned, there will be a serious legal battle between him and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.”

 

The minister added that based on the Child Rights Act, every child belongs to the state, hence the rights of every child will be protected from harm and violence.

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