Economy
Employers Vital in Pension Scheme—Stanbic IBTC
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s largest pension fund administrator (PFA), Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, has described as fundamental the role of employers in the country’s nascent Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), a status that obligates them to highlight the importance and value of pension provision among their employees.
Speaking during an employers’ forum organized by the PFA in Enugu, which held on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, participants, drawn from employer-organizations spanning both the private and public sectors, including governments, parastatals, ministries, companies, and universities, among others, noted that such stakeholder engagements will help to boost enrolment and strengthen the pension industry in Nigeria.
This was as employers of labour in Nigeria’s South East geo-political zone commended the PFA for its resolute commitment to enhancing awareness about the CPS and its enormous benefits to Nigerians and the economy.
In his welcome address, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Mr Eric Fajemisin, said the PFA is keen about having the over 73 million employed Nigerians enrolled in the CPS to enable them benefit from its provisions, especially to plan for retirement, which is inevitable.
Mr Fajemisin, who was represented by the Executive Director, Operations, Mr Steve Elusope, said the role of employers in the success of the scheme is pivotal as the Pension Reform Act specifically mandates them to help their workers have retirement plans through the opening of retirement savings accounts, funding of those accounts and regular remittance of their pension contributions.
“There is a clear need to ensure the rapid growth of the Contributory Pension Scheme by increasing its uptake by Nigerians. Latest figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics showed that the country has 73.4 million working Nigerians.
“Of this number only about 10% (7.3 million) are captured in the CPS. This forum is designed to bring together employers and pension experts where knowledge and information can be shared on the pension business and how to increase participation in the scheme,” Mr Fajemisin said.
The employers’ forum, titled Partnering to Deliver Excellent Pension Administration Services, will be held in eight cities across the country this year. The first edition held in Benin, Edo state on 23 March 2017.
The initiative was launched in 2014 as a platform to engage with employers, as a crucial anchor of the nascent pension scheme, to sign up to the CPS.
This year’s forum is focusing on derivable benefits of participation in the pension scheme; safeguards put in place to protect pension funds; expected participants in the pension scheme; ways to enhance collaborations to move Nigeria’s pension industry forward; the role of an employer/employee in the Contributory Pension Scheme; the challenges and the opportunities in the pension industry; and how pension assets can be deployed to support sustainable development in the country.
Other equally important issues examined are contributors’ access to their RSAs, claims processing, withdrawal from the pension scheme, and returns on investment on pension funds, annuity and regulatory oversight, among others.
Head, Computation & Remittance, National Pension Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Usman, who described the session as a positive experience, said the defined contribution accounts as defined in the PRA 2014 has become a very important income source for post-retirement comfort which must be embraced by all. He said the industry regulator has introduced numerous measures to enhance participation in the scheme, including establishment of regional offices to receive inquiries and other pertinent issues.
Also, Head, Business Development, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Mrs Nike Bajomo, said the PFA’s significant breadth of knowledge in the market, backed by the expertise and experience of Stanbic IBTC Group, a member of the over 153-year-old Standard Bank Group, will remain instrumental in delivering value-driven services to clients. Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, she said, has over 1.5 million retirement savings account holders nationwide, with assets under management in excess of N1.88 trillion. It pays approximately N1.8 billion to over 44,000 retirees monthly and over N261 billion has been paid to retirees since the PFA commenced operations in 2006.
Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited is a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group, a full service financial services group with a clear focus on three main business pillars-Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management. Standard Bank Group is the largest African financial institution by assets and earnings. It is rooted in Africa with strategic representation in 20 countries on the African continent.
Standard Bank has been in operation for over 153 years and is focused on building first-class, on-the-ground financial services organisations in chosen countries in Africa and connecting other selected emerging markets to Africa and to each other, applying sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, globally.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.
The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.
At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.
According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.
It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.
The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.
The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.
As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.
Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.
Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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