ASCSN opposes borrowing of pension funds

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has opposed plan by state governors to borrow N17 trillion from workers’ pension funds.

In a statement yesterday, the ASCSN Secretary-General, Alade Lawal, wondered why the governors, some that the states have not contributed to the pension funds, would be desperate to borrow N17 trillion from it to massage their insatiable greed.

The association warned the National Pension Commission (PenCom) against releasing any money from the pension funds to the governors under the guise of loan, except if it is ready to face the wrath of millions of Nigerian workers.

ASCSN reminded the governors that the pension funds are meant to pay employees their retirement benefits after serving their employers for years.

The Director General of NECA, Dr. Timothy Olawale, said: “We have no reason to believe that the relevant extant laws (PRA 2004 and 2014) and the investment regulations won’t be adhered to by the pension funds administrators (PFAs) and PENCOM, the regulatory body. As long as any decision to invest part of the pension fund assets are strictly based on the provisions of the PRA 2014 and existing regulations of investment, which guarantee safety, transparency, fair valuation and thus removing all ambiguity, there won’t be any need for concern, at all.”