February 2020

24Feb

Nigeria. Pension operators reduce investment in real estate to N220bn

The Pension Fund Administrators have reduced the amount of funds invested in real estate assets to N220bn as of the end of December 2019, latest figures obtained from the National Pension Commission have shown. This amounts to 2.15 per cent of the total assets of the Contributory Pension Scheme, which stood at N10.21tn during the period under review. The operators had invested N250.02bn in real estate as of the end of June 2019, PenCom stated. PenCom also disclosed...

February 24, 2020
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07Feb

Nigeria. Investing pension funds

Money saved by public and private sector workers in Nigeria for their pension under the National Pension Commission (PenCom) reached the N10 trillion mark in 2019, that is, after 15 years of consistent saving. The National Pension Commission, the regulatory body watching over private-sector pension entities that are the Custodians of the money and Pension Fund Administrators that operate like fund retailers, are the ultimate trustees of the pension money owned by about nine million Nigerians. The N10 trillion...

February 7, 2020
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03Feb

Nigeria. SERAP wins round one in battle to get details of payment of jumbo pensions to former governors

There is prospect Nigerians keen on knowing details of payment of life pensions to former governors across the 36 states in the country, and the names and number of ex-governors and other officials collecting pensions, may soon have some answers, as Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has won the latest round in the legal battle to compel 36 state governors to disclose these details. Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, Abuja last week granted leave clearing the...

February 3, 2020
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January 2020

29Jan

Nigeria to borrow N2tn to fund infrastructure development

Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) says the federal government has resolved to borrow two trillion from the current 10 trillion naira pension funds to finance the development of infrastructure. Niyi Falade, CEO of Crusader Sterling Pensions joins CNBC Africa to discuss this story. Watch de video in @CNBC Africa

January 29, 2020
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15Jan

Nigeria’s pension industry squeezed as risk outlook for banks worsens

The Nigerian central bank’s directive that the country’s lenders must have a minimum 65% loan-to-deposit ratio by March will be credit negative as the banks are pushed towards making riskier loans, Moody’s said on 13 January. Loans will need to grow by about 5% from the end of October to meet the new rules, Moody’s says. Pension funds cannot place money with banks rated below investment grade, meaning that pension assets are concentrated in 10 or 11 banks, says...

January 15, 2020
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13Jan

Nigerian Governors should publish payment details of their pensions since 1999, SERAP ask court

Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit asking the Federal High Court, Abuja to order the 36 state governors in Nigeria to “publish details and breakdown of payment of pensions to each of the former governors and other ex-officials, and the names and number of ex-governors and other officials receiving pensions under their respective State pension laws between 1999 and 2019.” Read Also Nigeria’s pension industry squeezed as risk outlook for banks worsens In the suit filed...

January 13, 2020
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December 2019

27Dec

Nigeria. Micro-pension contributors hit 30,000 in 7 months

Contributors for the Micro Pension plan are now 30,000 seven months after it was launched, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said. The Acting Director General of PenCom, Aisha Umar-Dahir said this in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust. The Micro Pension plan was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2019. It is aimed at extending pension coverage to the self-employed and persons working in the informal sector to drive financial inclusion and allow the target population to...

December 27, 2019
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10Dec

Nigeria. 36 states given 7 days to disclose pension payments to ex governors.

Nigeria’s Scio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Ekiti state governor Dr Kayode Fayemi and Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal, and other 34 governors urging them to use their “leadership position to urgently disclose details of payment of pensions to former governors and other ex-officials between 1999 and 2019 under your state’s pension law, and to provide a copy of the said...

December 10, 2019
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05Dec

Nigeria: Court Orders Govt to Recover Pensions Paid to Ex-Governors Who Serve As Ministers, Senators

The Federal High Court in Lagos in a landmark judgment has ordered the federal government to "recover pensions collected by former governors now serving as ministers and members of the National Assembly, and directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN to challenge the legality of states' pension laws permitting former governors and other ex-public officials to collect such pensions." A certified true copy of the judgment delivered last week was obtained...

December 5, 2019
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04Dec

Saving Nigerian pensioners from untold hardships

In Nigeria of today, working in the civil service is quite interesting, but that only lasts for the 35 years of active working. Once that lapses, the next phase comes with huge sufferings for most people. Pensioners are the least on priorities, from state to the federal government. It’s a series of untold hardships, right from the point of retiring. Getting the gratuity and regular pensions have always been complex. And the unfortunate thing is that, this trend has...

December 4, 2019
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