From Right to Left: Muhammed Hassan, PenCom; Ahmed Lawan, PenCom; Dele Alimi, DG, IoD Nigeria; Dr. Seye Awojobi, IoDCCG Board Member; Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, mni, FIoD, Chairman, IoDCCG; Dr. Faruk Aminu, Commissioner (Administration) PenCom; Jazuli Lawal, IoD Coordinator, Northern Region; Joseph Tsavsar, IoD Chairman Abuja Branch; Abbo Mamman, Head, States Operations, PenCom; Abdulqardir M. Dahiru, CCD, PenCom; Nerus Ekezie, Ag. CEO, IoDCCG
The Chairman, IoD Centre for Corporate Governance, Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, mni, FIoD on March 28, 2022 led Members of the Board of Governors and Management to a courtesy visit to the senior Management of National Pension Commission (PenCom) at its Head Quarters in Abuja. The PenCom team that received the IoDCCG delegation was led by the Commissioner (Administration), Dr. Faruk Aminu.
After an introduction by both parties, Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, mni, went ahead to inform the Commissioner the reason for the visit. In his presentation he expressed appreciation to PenCom for accepting to meet with IoDCCG team despite their busy schedule and thanked the Commissioner for the warm welcome accorded to us. Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, mni, stated that this goes further to demonstrate the Commission’s commitment to Corporate Governance. He congratulated the PenCom team for sanitising pension administration in Nigeria after many years of downturn in the industry. He recalled that the Code of Corporate Governance for the Pension Sector was unveiled earlier by the Commission, which are now guidelines, after the harmonized Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018 was released. The IoDCCG’s Chairman praised the Commissioner for his good works in making the pension sector more resilience and professional in the discharge of their services to pensioners in Nigeria. He expressed the fact that given the role of PenCom in pension administration and its concerns on good Corporate Governance an effective collaboration with IoDCCG ought to have commenced many years ego.
He pledged that the Centre will partner with PenCom to reenforce her commitment towards its responsibility for oversight on the implementation of the new Code (NCCG 2018) and urged the Commissioner to encourage pension organisations to adhere strictly to the provisions of the Code. He went further to give a background speech on the birth of IoDCCG by its parent organizations (IoD, SEC and CAC) after they realised the need to entrench good Corporate Governance practices in Nigeria. This need, he said led to IoDCCG we have today; an organization that has for more than fifteen years championed good Corporate Governance in Nigeria through robust services such as CG Trainings, Corporate Governance services, CG Audit, Board Induction and Evaluation and the latest being the Whistle Blower Services, all in a bid to entrench global best practices in corporate entities in Nigeria.
The Chairman stated that to ensure critical stakeholders are carried along in this journey, the composition of IoDCCG Board cut across Institute of Directors (IoD) Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and upon consultation, the Centre expanded the Board to have the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and the Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).
Among major important issues presented to the Commissioner and his team at the meeting were;
- The request to nominate a representative to serve on the Board of Governors of IoDCCG. The wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise of PenCom representative will enrich deliberations and uplift the Centre’s fortunes.
- The IoDCCG in collaboration with the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria is planning a maiden edition of National Corporate Governance Summit and we are inviting the Director General to serve as a speaker at the Summit slated to hold on July 26 – 27, 2022 in Lagos. PenCom is to also encourage all organisations under its purview to attend the Summit.
- Given the milestones already achieved in the Summit preparations, we crave the indulgence of PenCom to part sponsor the said Summit so as to assist the organisers meet up with the huge expenditure associated with such event.
- The request for conduct of Corporate Governance Services, Board Induction and Evaluation for the Board of PenCom and for Pension organisations under PenCom’s purview to enlist the services of IoDCCG.
- Invitation to PenCom as a Corporate Institutional Member of IoDCCG and the registration of Senior Management team as members of IoD Nigeria.
- The Centre publishes high quality Corporate Governance Journals and would like to collaborate with PenCom to improve on its publications through effective syndication of materials and circulation of research findings.
The Commissioner in his response praised the IoDCCG’s Chairman for the erudite presentations and the good work the Centre is doing in the propagation of principles and practices of good Corporate Governance in Nigeria and pledged to present the meeting outcomes to the Director General who was unavoidably absent. He acknowledged that PenCom collaboration with IoDCCG is long overdue and thus exited with the visit.
The Commissioner went further to explain the operational and working modalities of the PFA’s and the Pension Custodians in the management and investment of pension assets and the mechanisms put in place to ensure the safety of pension assets by the Pension Custodians. He also explained the dynamism of Pension administration and how pensioners can tap into the opportunities to live a better life after retirement.
A robust interaction, questions and answers ensued thereafter with clarifications from PenCom team on very many salient issues regarding pension matters and how individuals could better manage their pension yield.
The IoDCCG’s Chairman in a closing remark thanked the Commissioner and his team for a successful and highly engaging meeting and expressed the Centre’s desire to follow up on all the issues raised as well as the training opportunities that was identified during discussions.
The visit was wrapped up with presentation of journals produced by IoDCCG as well as some formal letters, while the Commissioner presented PenCom information booklet to the IoDCCG Chairman.
IoDCCG Management