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From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has warned blackmailers to back off as she is willing to open the books for scrutiny because there is nothing to hide.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mrs Dahir-Umar said PenCom was aware of a coordinated plan to bring the Commission into disrepute with frivolous petitions to the anti-graft agencies in collaboration with disgruntled insiders.
“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 petitiweekend,tons to the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC),” Mrs Dahir-Umar said.
She added: “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.”
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 co-operate 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.”
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”.
