Akwa Ibom to revisit contributory pension scheme

AKWA Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has said that his administration is gearing up to review the existing pension laws with a view to putting in place efficient structural framework for the smooth implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The measure, according to him, is to ensure proper management of the pension scheme to forestall the prevalent deficit on the pension arrears of workers during their retirement.

Governor Emmanuel dropped the hint while fielding questions from the Government House reporters on his arrival at the Ibom International Airport where he attended the World Pension Summit held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

The State Chief Executive who maintained that the Contributory  Pension Scheme is far better than the Definite Pension System currently in operation, said that the measure will checkmate misappropriation and change the perception of workers who look forward to retirement  with gloom as they usually wait for years without receiving their entitlement. “I want to see a state that within a short period, we don’t have any deficit of the pension arrears “, he said.

Commenting on their participation,  the Commissioner for Finance, Akan Okon, noted that the state has a lot to gain from the summit and  gave an insight into how the state will tap into the pension reserved fund which has been dormant.

His counterpart in the Ministry of Investment, Commerce and Industry, Emmanuel Enoidem, who described the summit as a congregation of  practitioners and experts from within and outside the country in the management of pension funds, remarked that the summit has given the state opportunity to deepen its knowledge in pension funds management.

On her part, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr Glory Edet, acknowledged that the summit which deliberated extensively on  investment and promoting savings culture, is of utmost importance to the women as it will  enable them to access small and medium scale funds to grow their businesses.

Also, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Technical Matters, Ufot Ebong, said the event afforded them opportunity to market the state to the global community. He added that several potential investors have indicated interest to bring their businesses to the state.

This year’s edition of the World Pension Summit tagged – Africa Special, pulled  a large crowd of pension stakeholders, bankers and investment experts who presented papers on financial literacy, investment and risk management.