L-R Shows: Dr. Hamza Wuro-Bokki – PenOp Head, Legal & Regulatory Committee (MD- NPF Pensions); Olumide Bolumole, Divisional Head, Listings Business, The Nigerian Stock Exchange; Ms. Tinuade Awe, Executive Director, Regulation, The Nigerian Stock Exchange; Dapo Akisanya – PenOp Head, Technical Committee (MD – AXAMansard Pensions Ltd); Susan Oranye – PenOp Executive Secretary/CEO; Wale Odutola – PenOp Head, Communications & Branding Committee (MD – ARM Pension Managers Ltd); Oluwatoyin Alake, Head, Secondary Market, The Nigerian Stock Exchange; Jude Chiemeka, Divisional Head, Shared Services, The Nigerian Stock Exchange during NSE’s Bi-annual engagement forum with the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria.

By Ngozi Onyeakusi — The recent mandate by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) to procure a fidelity insurance policy to protect the over N9.33 trillion pension funds and assets from risks associated with negligence, fraud and other vices is part of the measures to secure the future of pension contributors.
Members of PenOp who gave the submission noted that the initiative which was in the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, is an addition to the guarantee provided by banks which are the parents of the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs).
Addressing the journalists in Lagos, the Head, Branding Committee, PenOp, Wale Odutola, who is also the Managing Director ARM Pensions pointed out that the mandate by PenCom to operators to have Fidelity Insurance cover for their staff attested to the efforts by the regulator and operators to ensure the funds are adequately protected.
He noted that the pension industry regulator and operators would continue to come up with new measures to steer the sector to lofty heights, adding that ensuring a better life style for contributors remains top priority to PenCom and members of PenOp.
Earlier in her presentation, the President of PenOp Mrs Aderonke Adedeji, urged Nigerians to embrace the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which she noted was conceived to make life conducive for workers at retirement.
She also implored workers in the informal sector to leverage the micro pension plan to plan and secure their future, whilst pledging operators’ commitments to ensuring that contributors get better services and their benefits at retirement.
PenCom had mandated all PFAs and PFCs to procure a fidelity insurance policy to cover a minimum of two per cent of shareholders’ fund as annual insurance cover for their employees.