The Senate panel probing pension fund management is set to confront the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) but the team has betrayed no signs of backing down as it claims to have discovered far reaching fraud that is serious enough to convince the national lawmakers and the Nigeria public. UCHENNA AWOM examines the reasons advanced by both sides
A ‘well of fraud peopled by very inconsiderate persons’ may be an apt label to capture the dark turf of pension administration in Nigeria. Behind the dark angles however, are the concerted efforts by the task team to at least alert Nigerians and government alike that the pension house stinks and needs an urgent surgical operation if the government is to be taken seriously in their effort to ensure that senior citizens enjoy their past labour.
Unfortunately, a dangerous scenario is emerging since after the conclusion of the senate’s open investigative hearing, wherein mind boggling revelations were made.
The confusing signal is the seeming deliberate effort to turn the tide against the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) as the witch within that needs to be hunted down for courageously telling the whole world at the committee hearing of the malfeasance and brazen pen robbery going on in that sector. At that last count, the task team was said not to have made any documents available to the Senate panel.
Who is to be believed then? The Senate Committee probing the management of pension funds in Nigeria or the Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina? Observers fear that there may be a clandestine attempt to divert attention from the real issues, which may at the long run help to sanitize the system.
While the Senate Joint Committee, through one of its members, Senator Mohammed Sani Saleh asserts that it is yet to receive documents promised by Maina on the activities of the task team, Maina insists that he did so even before the conclusion of the investigative hearing by the committee.
He went as far as releasing the abridged contents of his submissions, which detailed not only the achievement of the PRTT, but also the revelations of fraud allegedly perpetrated in the Police Pension Board which has landed some high profile federal government officials in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) gulag.
Senator Saleh, a member of the Senate Committee on Public Service and Establishment and State and Local Government Administration, disclosed that there was no truth to claims by Mr. Maina, that he has presented the documents to the committee.
Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday he said, Maina had vowed to produce cartons of documents, but he was not forthcoming with the documents as of the last time they met him.
Senator Saleh also described as inconsequential Maina’s claim to have saved over N7billion for the federal government as long as many pensioners are yet to be paid. “Our committee is not interested in saving money for the government; we are out to see how that money is being used and why it has not been used to pay pensioners. It is not an achievement to save N7 billion for the federal government.”
Nonetheless, he said the probe is still on as more allegations are submitted against the task team.
“We have some allegations from concerned people on certain wrongdoings of the pension taskforce team, but we have not concluded our investigations, so, the probe continues”, he added.
But contrary to the senator’s assertion, the Chairman of the PRTT, AbdulRasheed Maina claimed in apparent response that he was selected by the Federal Government to drive the team in recognition of his unparalleled and exemplary turn-around of the operations of the Customs, Immigration and Prison Pension Office (CIPPO).
The PRTT under him, he boasted, has recovered and saved N151.2 billion from 2010 till date, N74 billion out of it formed part of the 2012 budget proposal of the Federal Government, which has just been passed by both chambers of the National Assembly. N24billion of the sum he added was put aside as contingency for harmonization of arrears particularly with Police, where officers in the cadre of AIGs/Commissioners of Police among others are paid monthly pension ranging from between N84,000 to N101,000.
Also, Maina who narrowly escaped legislative subpoena said the task team made an aggregate saving of N64 billion between June 2010 to December from the N3.4 billion monthly savings from the hitherto leakages in the administration of pension in Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), which occasioned the reduction of the monthly wage bill from N5 billion to N3.4 billion.
The PRTT he continued discovered and recovered N24 billion cash and landed properties from fraudulent top government officers, for which case is currently in the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja
“N33 billion as at date is properly secured with OHCSF accounts with various banks owing to the diligence and transparency of PRTT in the course of its brief restructuring of the Police Pension Office before it was asked to stop the exercise.
N1 billion monthly savings from the hitherto leakages in the administration of pension in Police Pension Office, which occasioned the reduction of the monthly wage bill from N1.5 billion to N.4 billion
Not done, Maina in the said submission to the Senate committee, said the task team tracked N900 million monthly savings which was hitherto usually declared as ‘loss’ (payments) to death benefit.
Besides that, he said the sum of N33 billion looted funds was discovered by his team and was promptly reported to the EFCC.
“This colossal loot which is made up of cash and landed properties was recovered from “fleece master” of the Office of the head of the Civil Service of the Federation Pension Office before the PRTT was set up. The persons involved have admitted their wrong doing.
“In the same vein, ?6million laundered by former administration of Pension Office was recovered and is presently invested with Crown Agents, London. Another N28 billion was saved from the restructuring of the Police Pension Office yet the team was directed to stop the restructuring halfway. These funds are currently lodged in some banks.
“PRTT equally discovered ingenious but illegal withdrawals by staff of the Police Pension Office using multiple cheques in fictitious names in excess of 30 cheques per day, to withdraw cash from their bankers.
Such illegal withdrawals amounted to N14 billion. The PRTT assisted by the law enforcement agencies have made substantial recovery of the said stolen monies. A certain staff of the Police Pension Office turned in N1 billion cash. Another three surrendered 3 luxury estates with about 27 blocks of deluxe flats they built in Abuja”, he said.
On the vexed biometrics, Maina submitted that PRTT has successfully test-run its biometric software/e-payment platform and is poised to commence issuance of SMART CARD to pensioners.
“The kick-off of e-pension management model will certainly enhance accountability, transparency and audit trail in pension administration in Nigeria. PRTT successfully eliminated ghost pensioners, eliminating excess, non-existent 2,144 ghost Police pensioners, amounting to N56,746,399.76.
“By a letter dated October 5, 2011 with reference number HMF/FMF/2011/1 and signed by Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Mrs. Ngozi Oknojo-Iweala, approval was given to the PRTT to access N462, 503,759.38 from Ecobank Nigeria Plc for the payment of September 2011 Police Pension to 17,658 beneficiaries.
Like the proverbial lizard, Maina had decided to blow the team’s trumpet, but something seems to be amiss. Why is the Senate panel holding a different view? Was it possible for the team to have made only verbal submission at the hearing? If so, why was it admitted by the panel?
The truth of the matter would appear that, the team whether their modus was right or not, has succeeded to put the rot in the pension management in the open. It is therefore given that the senate should be dispassionate enough to turn in Maina’s submission as a working document, cogent enough for their final report.
It would be suicidal if the report as given by him and his task team is waived aside. If no other thing, the PRTT submission wherever it may be, claimed that substantial recovered loot was lodged in some banks.
That being the case, is not wise therefore, to utilise the so-called recovered funds to offset the pension debts? Can such open claims by Maina be subjected to politics and buck-passing? He said the PRTT has saved large sums of money, and then what is appropriate is not to subject the claims to proper verification?
Already, reports are that the just concluded probe has claimed first high profile victim with the arrest of a serving federal Permanent Secretary, courtesy of the PRTT revelations. The irony of it all was that the Senate panel had during the hearing issued warrant of arrest for Maina after his exposure.
The scam that landed the officers in trouble was also from the police pension funds. They were alleged to have helped themselves to the till and made away with N2 billion.
The mind bogging fraud became a sore issue at the senate hearing when it was blown by Maina. Preliminary report of the investigation into the scam, it was revealed has been forwarded to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) for prosecution.
The man was said to have been held along with two other accomplices from two different federal ministries, who had worked with the Police Pension Fund office. The two are currently being quizzed for more information. “In the course of investigations, operatives uncovered “a syndicate which operates in the ministry.
It has also been established that a cheque of N300 million is used to clear money from an account which is being kept for that sole purpose. “The Perm Sec and his accomplices have been handed over to the EFCC and ICPC but investigations are still on-going. They have been released while awaiting prosecution.
Counter Allegations Against Maina
Like the hunter becoming the hunted, Maina himself was accused of fraud and he is currently battling to clear the allegations levelled against his team by Assistant Chief Accountant in the Police Pension Office, Mr. Toyin Ishola.
Ishola, it could be recalled, had testified before the Senate joint committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Government Administration investigating pension management and administration in Nigeria, during which time he spiritedly countered the damning allegations made by Maina. One of such allegations was that some pension’s funds were domiciled in the account of his brother.
However, Maina debunked the allegation when he told the committee that while he is from Biu, in Borno State, Danjuma Zubairu is from Kabba in Kogi State; in response to allegations that the account in Fidelity Bank in the Central Business District Branch, was domiciled in the account of his younger brother, Zubairu, Maina insisted, is the Group Head, Private Banking Abuja region of Fidelity Bank.
The import of the tango is that the pension funds may have unknown to the public become sweet pie for some privileged few who happened to find themselves in the ‘right’ place and at the right time. The implication also is that the retirees and pensioners may continue to live at their mercy while they continue to play the diversionary game.
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