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By Sunday Ani
A coalition of civil society groups has condemned the recent attacks on the Director General (DG) of National Pension Commission (PenCom), Aisha Dahir-Umar, by some persons who accuse her of corruption and financial mismanagement.
The groups describing the development as a campaign of calumny calculated to tarnish her image and diminish her sterling performance in office.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, spokesman of the groups, Declan Ihekaire, alleged that some groups of persons were trying to hold the commission to ransom for their selfish gains and interests either by hook or by crook.
He said identities of those at the vanguard of the campaigns have unravelled, saying they were those whose corrupt past has been brought to the attention of the PenCom DG, and who thought they could divert attention from their sordid past by trying to destroy one of the most enviable institutions in the country.
“We have it on good and reliable knowledge that the agenda of these individuals is to deploy coordinated media attacks to draw the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari to remove the PenCom director general, despite her sterling achievements since her assumption of office in 2017.
“However, one thing we are 100 per cent sure of is that the Federal Government, led by President Buhari, and the international community are very well aware of the transformational leadership that Dahir-Umar has brought to the commission since her assumption of office,” he said.
He listed some of her achievements in office to include the growth of pension assets from N6.42 trillion in 2017 when she assumed office to N14.6 trillion as at October 2022; an increase of over 100 per cent in Nigeria’s pension assets, successful recapitalization of the pension industry from N1 billion to N5 billion, and the introduction of the multi-fund structure in the investment of pension fund assets to address the investment appetite and preference of contributors and their age profile among others.
Ihekaire expressed the groups’ confidence that President Buhari, as well as industry stakeholders, who are well aware of Dahir-Umar’s giant strides, would not be distracted by, what he called cheap blackmail by a group of persons who dislike the DG because of her principled and determined stance on issues.
“As such, we the coalition of civil society groups has resolved to pass a vote of confidence in the PenCom director general, Dahiru-Umar; charge her not to be distracted by naysayers and selfish individuals who are out to stain her clean records at the commission and assure Nigerians of our resolve to expose these fellows who are out to destroy one of the most enviable agencies of government and this we will do in a record time,” he said.
Ihekaire also called on the media and patriotic civil societies not to allow their esteemed platforms to be used against the DG and the commission, even as he equally called Mr. President to ignore the frivolous allegations of corruption and financial misappropriation against the DG, describing those championing the series of attacks against as mere attention seekers who are out to derail the president’s noble agenda in the pension sector.
“We want to reinforce and reiterate that the landmark achievements of Dahiru-Umar are in public glare and have been recognised by labour unions, pensioners, civil society organisations and the international community,” he said.
