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The Federal Government has moved to tackle the widening pension gap in Nigeria’s informal economy, where only 0.25 per cent of workers are currently covered under the pension scheme.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this at an event in Abuja on Monday, saying the figure effectively means pension coverage in the informal sector is almost non-existent.
Oloworaran explained that PenCom had accredited its first pension agent, Awabah, as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion and draw millions of informal sector workers into the pension system.
She noted that the new arrangement allows traders, artisans and other informal workers to make pension contributions through Point of Sale (POS) terminals and mobile devices, removing longstanding barriers to participation.
“What we should expect is pension penetration. Coverage at the moment in the informal sector is 0.25 percent, rounded down to 0 percent, so essentially we are not doing anything in this area.
“The Nigerian economy is also an informal economy. It means that almost everybody is yet to be covered. It is for them to take pensions to the street and everywhere in Nigeria to make sure that no Nigerian is left behind in retirement savings.
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“What it means is that the informal sector can contribute their pension with mobile phones. It is convenient and seamless.
“What it means is that the informal sector can contribute their pension with mobile phones. It is convenient and seamless,” she said.
Also speaking at the event, co-founder of Awabah, Mr Tuji Andrew’s, said the fintech firm is committed to ensuring that the majority of Nigerians are able to save towards retirement.
According to him, “Our goal is to drive personal pension penetration in Nigeria.
“What we are trying to do is to ensure that Nigerians can approach any POS to pay for their personal pension. We want to make it easy for Nigerians to make their monthly pension contributions,” he said.
