N241bn pension fund committed to infrastructure development – PenCom

PenCom DG Omolola Oloworaran

PenCom DG Omolola Oloworaran

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Omolola Oloworaran, has said that the commission has committed N241 billion to infrastructure investments as part of its contribution to infrastructure development in Nigeria.

Oloworaran stated this on Thursday in Lagos while briefing journalists after the Pension Industry Leadership Council meeting, saying the commitment was the first major step under the Pension Industry Infrastructure Consortium established by the pension industry in collaboration with FSD Africa.

The PENCOM boss said the commitment was expected to rise to N300 billion as the industry receives outstanding commitments, adding that actual investments in infrastructure projects were expected to commence by the second quarter of 2027. “By Q2 2027 we intend to have deployed the first batch of the funds,” she said.

She emphasised that this step marks a major milestone for the pension sector as operators seek long-term inflation hedges and inflation-adjusted returns for contributors.

“Mobilising funds for infrastructure investments and development is critical given its long-term nature and potential to protect Nigerians against inflation. This is the very first step,” she said.

The DG explained that the initiative would be expanded as the industry continued to explore ways of contributing to other sectoral development.

She disclosed that the council had approved an independent global benchmark maturity assessment for the pension industry. This, she noted, is aimed at elevating the industry to global standards and ensuring that operators adhere to best practices.

She said the exercise would be concluded soon, while further details would be made available as the process progresses.

The PENCOM chief made it known that the 2026 Annual Pension Week would hold from October 26 to 30, saying more details of the programme would be disclosed within the next two weeks.

On the industry’s long-term outlook, Oloworaran assured that the council was working on the Pension Transformation Agenda 2030, which would formalise ongoing reforms and set out where the industry should be by 2030.

She said the meeting focused not only on current activities but also on the industry’s long-term direction and the impact of its reforms on the lives of Nigerians.

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