BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom),(Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, has paid a courtesy visit to the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, at the NLC Headquarters in Abuja.
In her remarks, Ms. Oloworaran said that the meeting was to strengthen collaboration between PenCom and the leadership of organised labour in advancing the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in Nigeria.
She acknowledged the remarkable role of the NLC in supporting the CPS since inception.
The PenCom DG noted that the Labour Union remains a critical stakeholder in the pension industry and stressed the need for continuous engagement to consolidate gains in the sector.
She further stated that the Commission, under her leadership, is poised to be even more responsive to Labour by providing timely information about the pension industry’s performance.
Responding, Comrade Ajaero welcomed the PenCom DG, affirmed NLC’s commitment to the CPS.
He called on the new PenCom leadership to strengthen the existing relationship between NLC and PenCom by providing regular updates on the pension scheme. The NLC President lamented the slow pace of adoption of the CPS by some States and non-compliance by the private sector. He urged PenCom to intensify advocacy to ensure its full CPS implementation at the subnational level. Comrade Ajaero also indicated that the NLC was positively disposed to collaborating with PenCom in enforcement on defaulting companies that do not remit pension contributions for workers.
Ms. Oloworaran described the meeting as fruitful and reaffirmed PenCom’s commitment to sustained collaboration towards strengthening Nigeria’s pension industry for the benefit of workers and retirees.
