The National Pension Commission has debunked claims that it spent millions of dollars on estacodes for the Director General of the commission, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, during the 2020 COVID lockdown.
PenCom, in a statement by its management yesterday, said the recent report which was carried by an online platform was fictitious and sponsored by mischief makers who are currently jostling for appointments in the country.
The online report alleged that the DG was paid over 1$ million as estacodes during the COVID-19 era even though she didn’t travel.
But in a statement issued on Sunday, the commission said, “It was impossible for any government official to claim foreign travel allowances in 2020 when there was a global restriction on international travels and most airports were closed, forcing people to work from home and hold virtual meetings.”
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PenCom further stated that “All rates for estacode payments are standardised and foreign trips require strict documentation, including air tickets, stamped passport pages and evidence of the number of days spent
“Even if the DG were to spend two years abroad without returning to the country for one day, her estacode allowances would not be up to a million dollars.”
The commission said it had nothing to hide and would continue to run a transparent and accountable system.
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