N20trn Pension Funds: “We Are Following Due Process”, FG Replies Atiku

The Federal Government has assured Nigerians of the safety of  their pension funds.

Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy made this known on Thursday in Abuja, the nation’s capital amidst fears that followed his recent suggestion that the government was planning to borrow N20 trillion from the fund to provide key infrastructure.

The announcement was immediately greeted with serious condemnation from Nigerians, including the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar who raised the issue of safety. What then would happen to their savings domiciled with Pension Administrators, Nigerians have demanded.

The Organsied Labour represented by the NLC and TUC has also kicked against the plan.

For instance, Abubakar had contended that the plan was illegal and against the 2014 Pension Act. The federal government, he said, should look elsewhere to raise funds for infrastructure development.

Reacting to the controversy yesterday, Edun said due process would be followed on the issue, noting that the Pension Funds Act has spelt out the modalities for investing the funds.

The minister further stated that the extant laws will be followed in accessing the funds by the federal government, stating that the Federal government has reached a conclusion on the issue, which according to him is still under debate.

He said:  “It has come to my notice that stories are making the round that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.

“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.’

He explained that the federal government had only sought the advice of major stakeholders in the Pension sector on the issue during the last FEC meeting.

“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws; these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas,” the minister said.

The fear among Nigerians stemmed from their past experience where Pension administrators and governments at different levels have mismanaged what is supposed to provide succor for them after retirement.