Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned pension managers in Nigeria not to jeopardise retirement contributions of workers.
Speaking at the 3rd edition of the World Pension Summit held in Abuja yesterday, the former president said pension managers must make people trust the pension system in the country in such a way that they will be confident that when they retire, their retirement saving are safe.
Obasanjo initiated the contributory pension system (CPS) which started in the country in 2004 and has since transited the country from billions of unpaid pension liabilities to a pension portfolio of over No trillion.
The former president expressed satisfaction with the CPS, saying the system has created jobs, yielded positive results and improved the wellbeing of retirees in the country.
Nigeria is at the moment hosting the summit for the third consecutive year with the theme of this year’s Summit as “Pension Innovations: The African Perspective.”
The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said innovations are shaping the pension industry in Africa as the continent’s gross domestic product grow at 5 percent in recent time after decades of economic slump.
Anohu-Amazu identified “unique African entrepreneural and innovative spirit; the success stories of emerging industries, and smaller innovative initiatives such as the potable irrigation technology helping Sub-Saharan small holder farmers grow crops out of season” as the factors driving growth in the continent.
The issue of aging population, which is a major concern in the pension industry, featured in her speech.
“Africa would need to address the issue of aging population that will emerge as the demographic transition comes to an end, by developing robust pension and social security systems to cater for old age income,” she said.
She made a case for bridging Africa’s infrastructure deficit, adding that it would require sustained spending of about US$93 billion per annum, which translates to about 15 percent of Africa’s GDP.
