PenOp Kicks Against Passage of Bill Exempting National Assembly Service from CPS

Pension fund operators and custodians have kicked against the recent passage of a bill seeking for an Act to amend the Pension Reform Act, 2014, to exclude and exempt the National Assembly Service from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and establish the National Assembly Service Pension Board and for related matters (HB 2025).

The bill was recently passed by the House of Representative for the second time after it was challenged by some lawmakers initially for breach of due process.

The pension fund operators and custodians under the aegis of Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) frowned at the speedy and shrouded manner the bill was passed saying even the issue of breach of due process challenged by some lawmakers were not addressed.

PenOp in a statement titled Exemption of the National Assembly Staff From the Contributory Pension Scheme, the  Need for a Second Look,  noted that the Pension Reform Act 2004 amended in 2014 which established the Contributory Pension Scheme(CPS) was one of the most revolutionary pieces of legislation in Nigeria’s history, as it has effectively sanitized the pension industry and contributed immensely to the country’s economy in various ways, including job creation, deepening of the financial markets and the funding of infrastructural projects with the pension funds contributed by workers in the public and private sectors.

He noted that the coverage of the Pensioners under the CPS is currently at more than 9 million Nigerians, who have their pension liabilities fully funded unlike the situation in the old defined benefit scheme that always had funding deficits.

PenOp in the statement issued by its Chief Executive, Mr Oguche Agudah stated, “Whilst we acknowledge the constitutional responsibility of the legislature to make laws for the good governance of the country, we are not convinced that this bill was passed in “good” faith.

“We believe that an important bill of this nature, that has wide ranging implications for the finances of the Nation and the future of employees, should go through the standard and due legislative processes.

“One of such processes is the convening of a public hearing where all stakeholders that are affected by the bill are invited to discuss and make contributions that strengthen the law-making process”, he stated.