Business

Lawmaker Wants Transparency In Pension Fund Management

Published

4 years ago

March 9, 2020

Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila yesterday in Abuja called for integrity and transparency in the management of pension funds.
Gbajabiamila made the call during a three-day public hearing/investigation held for stakeholders on the non-remittance of pension contributions by the employers.
The public hearing was also to investigate delays of payment of pension entitlements to retirees by pension fund administrators, non adherence, and compliance to the provisions of the pension reform Act 2014 by relevant government authorities.
The speaker, represented by the Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Mohammad Monguno, said the Contributory Pension Scheme could boost the economy if well managed.
Gbajabiamila said the smooth operation of the scheme was important so that workers would not retiree and find it difficult to access their retirement benefits.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Pensions, Hon. Kabiru Rurum said the public hearing was aimed at finding solutions to the problems confronting the scheme.
He said the national assembly was concerned with alleged mismanagement of pension funds and ill-treatment of retirees.
The acting Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Hajiya Aishat Umar, attributed delay in the payment of pensions to federal government employees to the nonpayment of accrued rights.
“There are three components of the retirement savings account which are contributions, accrued rights and the yield on investment, they are to be consolidated before payment to retirees,’’ Umar said.
She said the number of contributors grew from 8. 14 million to 8.89 million as at December 2019.
Umar added that the total pension fund assets grew from 8. 64 trillion as at December 2018, to 10. 22 trillion as at December 2019, with an average monthly contribution of N131.69 billion in 2019.
She disclosed that more than 308, 298 people had retired under the scheme as at December 2019 and were currently being paid pension.
Umar said there were 957 Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under the CPS, comprising of 845 treasury funded MDAs and 112 self funded MDAs.
“The Federal Government was yet to implement the new rate of pension contributions in respect of employees of treasury funded MDAs from a minimum of 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent.”
According to Umar, there are 236, 676 private companies under the Scheme.
She said that the commission had developed a framework for recovering unremitted pension contributions with penalty from defaulting employers.
“The framework entails review of pension records of employers to determine unremitted pension contributions as well as incidences of late remittances.
“The commission had between July 2012, to January 2020 recovered the sum of N17. 054 billion,comprising unremitted principal contributions of N8. 644 billion and penalties of N8. 409 billion from 655 employers.”
The acting director-general said that the commission had a framework for the regime of sanctions and penalties for securing compliance with the Pension Reform Act ( PRA) 2014.
“The application of the sanctions regime has proved very useful in ensuring private sector compliance.
“From inception of the CPS to December 2019, the commission has received 3, 595 complaints on non- remittance on pension contributions and 2, 646 were resolved while the remaining 949 complaints are at various stages of resolution,” she said.
Umar said that not all states in the country had implemented the Scheme.
She also said that the commission’s principal objectives were to regulate, supervise, and ensure the effective administration of pension matters and retirement benefits in the country.
The commission is also empowered to establish uniform set rules, regulations, standard for the administration and payment of retirement benefits.

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

4 days ago

May 3, 2024

The Tide

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Depot Chairmen Forum, has exonerated its members from the current fuel scarcity in the country.

According to IPMAN, this is caused by its inability to source petroleum products.

The IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum also threatened to withdraw its services over non-payment of N200 billion bridging claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to its members, since 2022.

Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the Chairman, of the Forum said this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.

Alhassan said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) was the sole importer of the product, but the marketers could not source products from NNPC Ltd. deport, rather from the private depots at high rate.

“We cannot buy fuel from the private depots at N950 and transport the product from Lagos to the North and other parts of the country with N2 million and still sell it at N900 or N1, 000.

“It is expedient for us to state that we are more pained by the non-availability of petroleum products in the country, which has given rise to another round of untold hardship for Nigerians.

“Contrary to claims that IPMAN members are hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel, we would like to categorically state that PMS scarcity is wholly triggered by inability to get fuel from NNPC and not IPMAN,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said the disruption was due to logistical issues which had since been resolved.

“We currently have an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.

“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.

“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits. Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain,’’ Soneye said.

He however, said the lines would clear out soon.

On the non-payment of bridging claims, the IPMAN forum said it was distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the NMDPRA towards the survival its member’s businesses, arising from its refusal in paying the claims.

“It is with deep frustration that we have assembled here today as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down businesses and retrenched employees.

“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running on a daily basis across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in order to serve the teeming population of Nigerians,’’ Alhassan said.

He recalled that Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), at a stakeholders meeting in February mandated the NMDPRA management to clear the entire debt in 40 days.

“However, today, we have crossed the 40 days’ time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 billion has been paid, ignoring minister’s directive.

“We are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of Sales and Storage Licence, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the licence, which our members are recently subjected to.

“We are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses.

“We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“We are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, shut down every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible.

“We call on our members to however remain resolute and law abiding, even as we draw close to the immediate ultimatum for our demands to be met by the NMDPRA,’’ the chairman said.

Reacting to the IPMAN’s claims, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Seiyefa Osanebi said the bridging claims payment was ongoing.

“The bridging claims payment is always an ongoing process,” she said.

Maritime

Shippers’ Council Registers 160 Port Operators

Published

1 week ago

April 29, 2024

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.

Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.

By: Chinedu Wosu