It’s safe – Nigerian govt allays fear on N20tn pension fund

The Nigerian government has said the country’s N20 trillion pension fund is safe and secure.

The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Recall that after last Tuesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, Edun said the government would unveil a plan to harness local funds to finance infrastructure development.

His statement was condemned by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, which urged the Federal Government to refrain from tampering with the pension fund.

In a joint statement by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero and the TUC Deputy President, Tommy Okon, the organized labour told the government that “Nigerian workers have entrusted their hard-earned savings for retirement security, not as a means for government projects.

“It is imperative to halt further plans to tap into these funds, especially given past government borrowing practices’ lack of transparency and accountability.”

However, Edun denied an allegation that it intended to borrow the N20 trillion pension fund for infrastructure development.

“The pension industry, like most financial industries, is highly regulated.

“There are rules and limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.

“The Federal Government has no intention of going beyond those limitations and bounds, which are there to safeguard workers’ pensions.

“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those who handle funds that are available over a long period, to see how, within the regulations and the laws, these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas,” Edun clarified.