I Won’t Allow Anyone Steal Pension Funds Under My Watch—PenCom DG

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, has stressed that those planning to use the agency to steal pension funds would never have their way, stating that such an era was long gone.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the PenCom chief said no matter what some powerful persons within the commission do, she will not succumb to pressure.

Mrs Dahir-Umar was reacting to an alleged plot to blackmail the organisation into agreeing to the demands of those she described as “disgruntled elements.”

According to her, there have been efforts to paint PenCom black in public through “frivolous petitions” to anti-graft agencies in the country.

However, she declared that the agency, under her watch, was ready to open its books for scrutiny because it had nothing to hide.

“These elements, some of whom are yet to come to terms with the fact that PenCom is no longer at their beck and call, have been sponsoring negative media reports and getting faceless groups to write frivolous petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),” Mrs Dahir-Umar said.

“Although some low-level media outfits are giving a voice to these defamatory petitions, those who know how we conduct our affairs at PenCom are not in any way bothered. Since I took over as the DG, we have undertaken far-reaching reforms within the organisation, which are yielding positive results,” she added.

Describing the era of “anything goes” as long dead and buried, she said, “Those who think they can use the commission to make money or that they should be the ones calling the shots are bitterly disappointed and are sponsoring false publications and trumped-up petitions. We will cooperate fully with the agencies.

“Our message to the disgruntled elements today is exactly as it was yesterday; we will not allow anyone to pilfer pension funds for self-aggrandizement. It will never happen under my watch.”

Mrs Dahir-Umar added that if PenCom had anything to hide, “we would have surrendered to the agents of blackmail who have been on our case since 2017 when I became acting DG.”