NASS, politics of pension reform and 2015 polls

BY Obeagu Chibuzo
When the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, declared during the 2013 National Assembly Public Hearing on Pension Reform Bill, 2013 that it was going to make Pension Reform an election issue in 2015 and beyond, Pension Stakeholders and Nigerians supported the declaration. This is understandable.
There is no better corroboration of the issue than the statement of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, that “as Christians and Moslems, we have religious injunctions to take care of the elderly, the old and the children”.

Senate President, Sen. David Mark.

President Goodluck Jonathan sent the Pension Reform Bill to the National Assembly as his administration’s response to the numerous challenges and corruption that have besmirched Nigeria’s pension system. Mr. President’s action has no doubt cleared any question about his government’s commitment to Pension Reform and fighting corruption in the sector.
It was against this backdrop that pension Stakeholders led by the NLC resolved that they were going to support political parties and candidates based on their commitment to pension reform.
I praise the efforts of the National Assembly and Pension Stakeholders for jointly and overwhelmingly condemning the fraud that characterized Pension Administration in the country and resolving to tackle the menace. In the wake of the mind-boggling pension funds looting saga, legislators had taken the bull by the horn to sanitize our pension system.
Being an issue of national importance, I was one of those that thought the 2013 Pension Reform Bill will go down in history as one of the fastest bills passed by the National Assembly. But nearly one year after the NASS Joint Public Hearing in June 2013, the Pension Bill is yet to be read the third time and passed.
Pension cabals
There are reports that the Pension Reform Bill has been caught between the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan to address the challenges facing the Pension Industry and the interest of the pension cabals; the beneficiaries from the status quo, who are allegedly resisting Mr. President’s reform through their “legislative politics”.
Experience has shown that people resist change when it threatens their interest. In as much as one would not want to believe that political factors have impeded legislative pension reform, how do we explain the back and forth movement on the Pension Bill in the NASS? It is worrisome that all sorts of untenable reasons have been adduced by the few forces working against the Pension Bill to delay its passage.
Every now and then, I read reports on the contestations about the removal of 20 years experience. But I make bold to say that the Executive was right when it reduced the 20 year experience for the head of the Pension Commission (PENCOM).
I agree with Issa Aremu, NLC National Vice President, who gave an indication that people with 20 years experience in pension could be those who have also acquired experience and expertise in fraud. And the truth is that in the past ten years of pension administration, those who had run and done damage to Nigeria’s pension industry had over 20 years experience. So what has age got to do with it?
The global trend in the appointment of heads of financial institutions like PENCOM places more emphasis on competence, honesty, integrity and the requirement of fit and proper test. Therefore the National Assembly was right when it further reduced the years of experience requirement for the head of PENCOM.
A cursory look at the laws setting-up the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) will reveal the absence of years of experience limitations for their heads. Yet, these financial institutions like PENCOM manages about double, and in some cases 20 trillion Naira above that of PENCOM and they are doing well. What the promoters of the so-called 20 years experience have failed to tell Nigerians is that those who looted billions of pension funds had over 20 years experience.
Deceitful elements
With just about 11 months to the 2015 general elections, our well-meaning legislators and in fact the NASS leadership should not allow a few deceitful elements playing politics with the Pension Bill to scuttle the country’s pension reform efforts. All over the world, the issue of pension or “life budget” for pensioners is so sensitive to play with and has grave socio-economic implications both for the citizens and the nation.
Nigerian Pension Reform is increasingly under pressure. The Presidency and the NASS have invested so much time, energy and resources in fighting for the actualization of the country’s Pension Reform. Before the National Assembly embarks on another recess, one critical bill the Parliament should endeavour to pass is the Pension Reform Bill, 2013.
Given the prospects the Pension Reform Bill holds for the welfare of impoverished Nigerian workers, millions of pensioners cutting across every constituency, and in fact, the economy of this country, the NASS should rise to the challenge of giving the Pension Bill expeditious passage as well as oversight the commencement of its implementation before the tenure of this 7th National Assembly lapses. This will be a crucial centenary gift for Nigerian pensioners and a legacy the current NASS should aspire to leave.
As 2015 politics approaches, pension reform will be a big issue in the next election as pension stakeholders are mobilizing to support those who supported the pension bill and work against those that worked against the bill.
Obeagu Chibuzo, a lawyer, wrote from Abuja.