The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has formalized a strategic partnership aimed at combating pension fraud with the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Commission and the PenCom, at the National Pension Commission Head Office, Abuja.
Dr. Aliyu, represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Mr. Clifford Okwudiri Oparaodu, said that the role of the PenCom is crucial, as many people are not aware of the uses and benefits of insurance, as well also pensions.
He said, “All of us who are in the labor market, whether you are an employer or an employee, you stand to gain one way or the other, provided by the Pension Act.”
The ICPC Boss further revealed that “people always talk about the Pension Act application and compliance in the public sector, adding that there is also a need to focus on the private sector area because the law allows us to do so, and that at the end of the service year, an average employee in the private sector will be happy when retiring.”
In addition, he disclosed that ICPC’s role in the Mou is on enforcement against whoever fails to comply with the Pension Reform Act.
In her remark, Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, described the collaboration as a landmark occasion, “the singing of the MoU between both Commissions signifies a shared moral and institutional commitment, a partnership rooted in our collective resolve to strengthen integrity, transparency, accountability, and judicious management of pension funds”.
According to the DG, the signing of the MoU provides for the agencies a clear, coordinated framework to address the challenges of fraud bedeviling the pension sector.
“Under this partnership, PenCom and ICPC will work hand in hand to recover unapplied and unremitted pension contributions, ensuring prompt disbursement of recovered funds into retirement savings accounts or contributors, and all defaulting employers will be held accountable in line with extant laws”, Oloworaran stated.
She further said, to ensure efficiency and seamless coordination, both institutions have designated the Director of Operations for the ICPC and the Director of Surveillance for PenCom as focal persons to ensure implementation of the pact.
Additionally, she stated that the structure of the MoU would ensure that information sharing, investigation, and enforcement happen with speed and precision with ICPC’s enforcement authority and PenCom’s regulatory oversight, saying that “we are confident that compliance and recovery outcome in the pension industry will reach new heights.”