Buhari Signs Bill Exempting National Assembly Workers From CPS Into Law
As a last assignment before handing over to the new administration, the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, has signed into law the National Assembly Service Pensions Board Bill exempting National Assembly workers, and others from the mandatory Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
This is in disregard to the appeal from the critical stakeholders in the nation’s pension sector including the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the Nigerian Labour Union, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOP) among others to the President not to sign the Bill into law on the ground that the said Bill did not pass through the standard legislative process.
Meanwhile, a statement by Senator Babajide Omoworare, said in furtherance of the provisions of Section 58 of the Constitution and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
“The National Assembly Service Pensions Board (Establishment) Act establishes the National Assembly Service Pensions Board to administer the pension scheme for personnel of the Service and exempts the personnel of the National Assembly Service from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
“The President also assented to the Federal Road Safety Commission Training Institutions (Establishment) Bill, for capacity building and training in road traffic administration and safety management, and to provide training for members of Federal Road Safety Corp,” he said.
It would be recalled that some concerned Pension industry stakeholders while reacting to the unprofessional manner to which the Bill was passed in a statement questioned the integrity of such Bill and also demanded to know to who’s interest the Bill was meant to protect giving the fact that Nigeria’s pension industry has grown over the last 18 years since the Pension Reform Act (PRA) was initially enacted in 2004.
They were of the opinion that the Bill in question was inimical to the growth and successes the industry has recorded, noting that the “industry has ensured that the average Nigerian worker was able to retire in peace and dignity. The act brought about the professionalization of pension fund administration and the growth of the pension industry in Nigeria, adding that there are many gains that the pension industry has achieved and there is a great need to protect these gains from individuals seeking personal gain.
“Over the last number of years, we have seen many actors try to reverse these gains, usually from seeking to amend the act that would allow groups of people to leave the scheme. These acts are typically done through legislative actions as certain groups sponsor bills to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS)
“We are not convinced that this bill was passed in “good” faith. We also believe that an important bill of this nature should go through the standard and due legislative processes. One of such process is the convening of a public hearing where all stakeholders that are affected by the bill are invited to discuss and engage.
“All the stakeholders like the workers union, labour, the Pension Fund Operators, the Regulators, Employers of labour and other critical stakeholders were not engaged in the process. We are also aware that some principal officers of the House who normally should oversee the passage of bills were unavoidably absent, bringing the integrity of the process into question. We are forced to question whose interests this bill is geared to serve.
“It needs to be ascertained, why the bill was passed without the crucial input of citizens and stakeholders? This breach of sacrosanct legislative processes and the rather hurried passage of this bill, triggers serious concerns and should be revisited urgently in the interest of both National Assembly staff, the pension industry and the nation in general,” they advised.
They said “As a matter of fact, there are a number of proposed amendments to the current pension act that have been proposed within the house for a number of years. So, for this bill to pass quickly, while the others left unattended to speaks to ulterior motives.
“It is pertinent to note that the Federal Government had earlier issued a white paper stating that the Police Force or any other government agency should not leave the Contributory Pension Scheme as the scheme was the Federal Government’s way to have structured and sustainable pensions for its employees.”
They condemned the plan based on the fact that economic analysis and actuarial reports have shown that it would be impractical and irresponsible to move the police or other sectors of the Federal Civil Service from the current Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to a Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) because of the amount of funds this would cost, the fiscal position of the government and the effect it would have on future retirees.
This, according to them, “makes this recent bill to exit the National Assembly staff quite puzzling and at cross purposes with the Fiscal situation of the country or the stated position of the executive.”
