IN NIGERIA, IT IS POSSIBLE TO DECEIVE A SYSTEM AND GET AWAY WITH IT - FORMER HEAD OF SERVICE

Professor Afolabi, former Head of Service of the Federation.

Professor Afolabi's Deposition...

I appreciate the intervention of the senate that investigated pension administration in Nigeria. It was very educating. I have never really paid any attention to one particular issue like this one.

There were a lot of things that were not open to me until I got here. One lesson I have learnt here is that our management structure should go deeper than we have it now.

When you are on the spot, you are the overall supervisor, but below, you have a lot of people carrying out series of activities that are unknown to you.

I also want to say that concerning what we are presently going through in pension matter, there is no gain saying that the system has collapsed and we have to do something to salvage the system before it collapses completely.

I saw something which I hope the general public or the younger generation should not copy. First, that it is possible to deceive a system and get away with it.

Second that it is possible to be above the law. I hope and pray that the general public and younger generation will see these as aberration.

In view of this, we should pay attention to extant rules and regulations including the frame work that determines how we act when in office.

 It is against this background that I wish to make the following general recommendations:

1. That the senate committee and the senate as a house, following the due process should affirm the termination of the activities of the Task force  wherever they may be lurking.

2.  There should be handing over of all Pay as you Go pension management schemes by all relevant managers of pension scheme to PENCOM. I am saying this because it appears Pencom is still relatively diligent as it operates using the principles of private sector which is clearly more efficient. I hope PENCOM will be able to rise up to the challenges as it is very difficult

3. PENCOM should engage credible audit firm and software developers or managers to generate an accurate and incorruptible pension data base to manage the scheme.  This will stem the ever-increasing rate of Pay as You Go pensioners when actually they should be decreasing

4. I also want to say for the state and local government pension; there is a subsisting interpretation problem which my predecessor used to stop subvention on this matter. In my opinion, though my predecessor was right, pensioners who are Nigerians are suffering and the states are incapable of alleviating their problems. I believe that the federal government should intervene.  

This will require the engagement of a competent audit firm to determine the quantum and nature of intervention.