Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) have invested N74.54 billion in infrastructure through the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCorp).
This is an indication that investors are turning their attention to infrastructure investments in the Nigerian pension industry.
According to the latest data obtained from the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the N74.5bn investment is coming from the N13.76 trillion pension funds as of February 2022.
Investment in infrastructure under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has been widely predicted by industry players following the commencement of the InfraCorp.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, during the unveiling of the corporation recently, said the bank was seeking to access part of the pension funds for infrastructure projects.
He said the corporation is expected to raise over N15 trillion to support investment in critical infrastructure in Nigeria and so far, N1tr has been provided as seed funds by the promoters to support the operations of InfraCorp.
Emefiele said: “There is a lot of liquidity today, not just in the banking industry; there is a lot of liquidity that is currently held by our pension funds managers. I understand from the last count that the size of Nigeria’s pension fund is over N13tr.”
He added, “I am told that in another three to five years, Nigerian pension assets will rise from almost N20tr to N25tr. In other countries where infrastructure corporations have worked, pension funds have been used to develop the infrastructure of those countries.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOP), Mr Oguche Agudah, on his part said pension assets under the CPS avail huge opportunities for the development of critical infrastructure in the country.
Agudah believes that if Nigeria wants to improve economic growth, investment in critical infrastructure is crucial which is why pension funds are there to explore.
Philip Shimnom Clement
