PenCom, CBN, Others Reject Proposal To Remove Police from Pension Scheme
The Senate has approved the appointment of Ms. Omolola Oloworaran as the Director-General (DG) of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
This confirmation followed the consideration and adoption of the report from the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service during its plenary session recently.
Ms. Oloworaran was initially appointed in July 2024 and served in an acting capacity pending the Senate’s confirmation, as mandated by the Pension Reform Act 2014. She succeeds Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, the former Director-General of PenCom.
With over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Ms. Oloworaran’s career began at Citibank and includes roles at Renaissance Capital, FDHL Consulting, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and First Bank, where she served as the Group Head of First Shared Services. She is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI). Ms. Oloworaran holds an accounting degree from the University of Ilorin and an MBA from Manchester Business School. She has also participated in the Transforming Business Using AI (TBAI) Programme at INSEAD Business School in France.
Ms. Oloworaran is expected to leverage her extensive experience to drive innovation and process reengineering within PenCom, aiming to enhance the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme and ensure the growth and security of pension assets for contributors and retirees.
In another development, PenCom, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and other key stakeholders voiced strong opposition to a proposed amendment bill that seeks to establish a separate Police Pension Board.
The bill, which aims to remove the police from the nation’s contributory pension scheme, was discussed at a Senate hearing recently.
PenCom, along with financial experts, warned that such a move could destabilise Nigeria’s financial system. Mr. Farouq Khalil, who represented PenCom’s Director-General, argued that although efforts are underway to address pension liabilities within the current scheme, maintaining the police under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) would serve them better.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Binos Yaro (PDP, Adamawa South), was introduced as a response to the inadequacy of the current pension system, which offers a monthly pension of only ₦70,000 to retired Commissioners of Police. Sen. Yaro proposed replacing this system with a Police Pension Board managed by the police.
Support for the bill also came from police representatives, including Inspector General of Police, Bala Ciroma, and retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Yesufu, who argued for the police to be granted pension privileges similar to those of the military and other security agencies.
The Senate Committee on Establishment, chaired by Senator Cyril Fasuyi (APC, Ekiti North), is set to submit its findings and recommendations.
