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NASS Accuses PenCom Of N12.3bn Illegal Spending

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6 years ago

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The National Assembly has criticised the alleged unapproved utilisation of over N12.283 billion of the Internally Generated Revenue of the National Pension Commission.
The joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Pensions expressed concerns when PenCom appeared before them in Abuja on Monday to defend its 2020 budget proposal.
The Chairmen of the committees, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau and Hon. Ibrahim Rurum, as well as members, including Senator Ali Ndume, Hon. Nicholas Ossai, Hon. Bamidele Salam and Senator Ubok Anang, took turns to criticise the alleged refusal by the commission to submit its IGR to the National Assembly for appropriation.
The lawmakers faulted the claim by the Director-General of PenCom, Aisha Dahir-Umar, that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation approved the proposal on the utilisation of the revenue accrued to the commission, stating that it was contrary to Section 21 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, and Section 80(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Dahiru-Umar had told the lawmakers that the commission recorded a total sum of N4.077 billion as operating surplus that could not be utilised due to the non-constitution of the supervising board.
The PenCom boss maintained that the National Assembly only had the powers to appropriate the sum of N33,307,782.32 released in 2019 to the commission as subvention, while the IGR was to be approved by the office of the secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The panel, therefore, demanded details of the 386 staff members who collected about N9 billion salaries, estimated at an average of N2 million monthly per staff member.
According to the documents presented to the committees, a total sum of N12.283bn was realised by PenCom between January and August 2019, out of which N8.264bn had so far been expended on personnel cost, overheads cost and capital expenditure within the period under review.
However, the commission had a revenue target of N16.676bn by the end of 2019 from registration fees and penalties, while its expenditure for 2019 was also expected to hit N15.370n by December 31.
A breakdown of the expenditure showed that about of N5.917 billion had been spent on personnel cost against the budget sum of N11.066bn; N2.288bn on overhead cost, against N5.916 billion budgeted and N58.89m spent so far on capital, against N1.984bn budgeted for 2019.
PenCom said, “It is projected that the commission would generate a total of N19.64bn in year 2020, mainly from regulatory fees and other income.”

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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16 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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16 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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16 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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