By Ikechukwu Amaechi
As Nigeria battles, unarguably, its worst financial crisis since independence, it is only apposite that the most pragmatic way to pull the country's chestnuts out of the raging economic inferno, to borrow a cliché, is to put round pegs in round holes. The appointment of Ms. Omolola Oloworaran as the new Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) ticks that box.
To understand why her appointment matters, there is need to appreciate what is at stake and the centrality of the pension industry in resolving Nigeria’s extant economic quagmire even if not wholly, at least partially.
Prior
to the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by President
Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004, daunting problems, including inadequate and untimely
budgetary provision, beset the discarded Defined Pension Scheme (DBS). With
rising life expectancy and poor implementation, particularly in the private
sector, it was not surprising that government’s budgetary pension deficit
climbed to over N2 trillion by June 2004. That was unsustainable and at that
point, the pension industry had collapsed, literally.
So,
the 2004 Pension Reform Act, which established a uniform contributory, private
sector managed and fully funded pension system for both the public and private
sectors, was a bold fiscal policy to cure the malaises in the industry. Being
mandatory, the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) compelled employees and
employers in the public and private sectors to collectively save a minimum of
18 per cent of an employee’s monthly emolument – 10 per cent by the employer
and 8 per cent by the employee – into a Retirement Savings Account (RSA), from
where employees will be paid retirement benefits.
The
Act established the National Pension Commission (PenCom) as the body to
regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters
in Nigeria. The result was phenomenal. National savings increased dramatically
leading to a jump from a N2 trillion budgetary pension deficit two decades ago
to a N19. 787 trillion Assets under Management (AuM) as at April 30, 2024. Not
only that, data from PenCom indicated a record total monthly inflows of N8.18
trillion. With the proportion of total pension assets to Nigeria's Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) standing at 8.39 per cent as at March 31, 2024, the
success of the CPS is staggering.
Today,
PenCom is the most thriving government’s fiscal agency and it is imperative,
particularly at a time like this, that the chief regulator must be someone with
the axiomatic Midas touch.
This is where Ms. Oloworaran steps in. Reputed for her visionary leadership, analytical mindset and strong work ethic, she is a financial expert. An accounting graduate from the University of Ilorin, she not only holds a Master degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Manchester Business School, she is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). She recently completed the Transforming Business Using AI (TBAI) program at the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD), a non-profit graduate business school that maintains campuses in France, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
With
over 20 years of cognate experience in the financial services industry, she
began her career at Citibank and subsequently worked at Renaissance Capital
(RenCap - an investment bank), FDHL Limited (a consulting firm), and Stanbic
IBTC Bank before joining First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, where she is currently the
Group Head of First Shared Services (FSS).
In
all these institutions, she carved a niche for herself as a strong advocate for
business growth through innovation, process reengineering, and client service
reimagining by instituting strategic business solution-based operations.
Whether it is establishing startup operational processes or managing internal,
industry, or regulatory-driven initiatives in the banking industry, she has the
knack for excellence.
For
instance, she is reputed for strengthening collaboration with stakeholders,
playing a pivotal role in several industry and Central Bank initiatives at the
various banks she worked, including the introduction of federal government’s
bonds and treasury bills trading in 2006, implementing internal policy
documents for margin trading in 2008, developing market guidelines and
accounting entries for repo trading in 2013, deploying the improved Real-Time
Gross Settlement (RTGS) SWIFT-based settlement system, the Scripless Securities
Settlement System (S4) in 2013, and the introduction of the e-Naira, among
other initiatives.
In
doing all this, she demonstrated vision and leadership, overseeing the
effective, efficient, and optimal utilisation of resources – human and capital
– in responding to competitive pressures and in the process, earning for
herself nomination and subsequently winning the First Bank Group CEO’s Award –
2022 and the Beyond Excellence Award in Stanbic IBTC.
With
good industry experience encompassing regulatory compliance and operational
risk, inflow management including pension receipts, strategic planning and
policy development, client services, transaction banking operationalisation,
treasury and investment banking operations, document and records management,
she spearheaded initiatives that enhanced various innovation and automation
projects, including Straight Through Processing (STP) initiatives, Robotic
Process Automation (RPA), Client Services Transformation, records digitisation,
and system/process redesign.
These
skill sets will, no doubt, serve her well at PenCom. As someone who is very
passionate about people and has been involved in mentorship programmes and
direct interventions, nurturing exceptional talents and enabling an empowered
workforce in the banking industry, Omotola, will indubitably bring her
strategic thinking skill, visionary leadership, strong work ethic, integrity
and ethical standards to bear on her new job.
Notwithstanding
the successes already recorded by her predecessors – Muhammed Ahmad (pioneer
DG), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu and Aisha Dahir-Umar-Oloworaran, who has the
advantage of two decades cognate experience in Nigeria’s financial sector, has
her job cut out as so much is expected of her.
The
pension industry has become the bulwark of the country’s flailing economy and
has the capacity of providing answers to most of Nigeria’s economic woes
because pension funds contribution has significant positive effect on the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). Besides, the scheme mobilises long term savings for
investment thus providing capital for infrastructure projects, business
expansion, and job creation. By stimulating entrepreneurship and creating jobs,
the Contributory Pension Scheme is the only recipe for economic stability and
development.
Not
only that, experts aver that pension funds serve as a buffer against the
corrosive impact of inflation, with diversified investment portfolios outpacing
inflation over the long term. At a time when headline inflation is 34.2 per
cent, a 28-year high, the resilience of the CPS ensures that retirees maintain
their quality of life despite economic fluctuations.
The
tasks before Oloworaran, therefore, include deepening the market by pulling
more people into the pension net. In October 2023, the Chartered Institute of
Personnel Management disclosed that out of 73 million Nigerian workers, only 10
million have enrolled in the CPS leaving out about 63 million workers.
There
is also need to review the contribution rates in accordance with the Act to
ensure that retirees maintain their desired standard of living. Though the
Pension Act stipulates a minimum contribution of 10 per cent by the employer
and 8 per cent by the employee, presently the employers only contribute 7.5 per
cent, same with employees bringing the total to 15 per cent.
The
issue of non-payment of accrued rights by government is one problem that has
deleterious impact on the scheme. Right now, the government is owing almost a
two-year backlog of accrued rights, which means that no worker who retired
within same period has been paid retirement benefits. While the issue remains a
slippery slope, the incoming DG must deploy all her skills in persuading an
obviously illiquid government to timeously release the accrued rights to
mitigate the sufferings of retirees.
To
blunt the edge of the incessant agitation by the police for exit, Oloworaran
must seek, urgently, presidential approval of special gratuity for police retirees
at the rate of 300 per cent of their last annual gross pay so that the balances
in their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) will be channeled towards their
monthly pension payments. Fortunately, all stakeholders in the industry are
agreed on this and the request letter has been on the presidential desk since
the time of Muhammadu Buhari.
Managing
the country’s huge pension assets is no mean feat. The good news is that Ms.
Omolola Oloworaran has what it takes to excel. All she needs do is apply herself
to the job. Fortunately, she has a solid reputation for doing just that.
Nigeria’s economy and her longsuffering retirees will be better for it.
*Amaechi is the publisher of TheNiche (ikechukwuamaechi@yahoo.com)
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