Jigawa govt disengages pension administrators after N6.9 billion bailout

The Jigawa State and Local Governments Contributory Pension Scheme Board has disengaged five out of its six pension fund administrators (PFAs) following a N6.9 billion bailout of the scheme from a financial crisis.

The state’s Head of Civil Service, Muhammad Dagaceri, said the step was taken to secure the financial future of pensioners and enhance transparency and efficiency in the pension management process.

The disengaged PFAs are Veritas Pension, Leadway Pension, Fidelity Pension, Access Pension, and Oak Pension.

They were accused of not performing to the expectation of the pension scheme.

Mr Dagaceri announced Premium Pension Fund (lead PFA), PAL Pension, GT Pension, NLPC Pension, Norrenberger Pension and Crusader Sterling Pension as the new firms egaged to manage the Board’s assets.

The official said the state government renewed its engagement with Norrenberger Pension following years of satisfactory performance.

“The selected Pension Fund Administrators, chosen through a thorough vetting process, will provide comprehensive management services, including investment strategies, fund performance monitoring, and customer service enhancements. The collaboration aims to mitigate risks and optimise returns on pension contributions.

“This agreement (engagement) marks a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to ensure that our retired workers receive their rightful entitlements in a timely manner. We believe that partnering with these esteemed Pension Fund Administrators will not only safeguard the funds but also enhance the growth and sustainability of our pension assets,” Mr Dagaceri stated.

The executive secretary of the pension scheme, Bilyaminu Aminu, said pension funds were shared among the PFAs based on their pedigrees, particularly the ability for return on investment, adding that the highest allocation was 20 percent while the lowest was 16 per cent.

“The Jigawa State Pension Board will oversee the partnership, ensuring that the PFAs adhere to regulatory standards and deliver on their commitments to the State and its pensioners,” Mr Aminu stated.

The governor, Umar Namadi, had in January 2024 injected N2 billion, N3.4 billion in August and another N1.5 billion in January to the pension scheme as bailout for the payment of pension and gratuity for the retiring civil servants.

The contributory pension scheme has faced many challenges in recent years with observers warning that the scheme may collapse.

Among the challenges, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the 27 local governments in state failed to remit at least N3.2 billion in statutory pension deductions and contributions for several years.

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Official documents exclusively obtained by this newspaper revealed that the councils did not remit appropriate pension dues in 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The documents also suggest that the failure of the councils to remit the funds as mandated by law and mass retirement of civil servants without recruitment has put the state contributory pension scheme in a bad state.

The document, a transitional committee report, lists the outstanding payment backlog of the 27 local government councils as the 17 per cent contributions from September 2014 to May 2015, which amounts to N1.25 billion.

Similarly, in 2019, unremitted funds stood at N254.6 million; N795 million in 2020 and N920.9 million in 2021; totalling over N3.2 billion.