Inaugurate NSITF, Pencom boards, NECA tells FG

THE Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has called on the Federal Government to urgently inaugurate the boards of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), National Pension Commission (Pencom) and other Federal Government’s agencies.

The association argued that the current situation of nonfunctional boards is a violation of the laws setting up those agencies, which could erode the confidence of Nigerians in those agencies.

Director-general of NECA, Timothy Olawale, who spoke as a follow up to the recent investigative activity of the National Assembly on Pencom, lamented that the boards of Pencom and that of the NSITF have not been inaugurated months after they were named.

Olawale, who quoted section 19 of the Pension Reform Act 2014 that provides for a governing of Pencom saddled with responsibilities, said it raises a fundamental governance issue, as contributors’ funds from employers and workers in Nigeria are involved.

To avoid eroding the confidence that had been built over the years by Nigerians, espe- cially where contributors’ funds are involved and should be protected, the NECA DG stated the implication of the non-governance framework, which is to regulate the activities of these agencies, three and half years down the line, is unfortunate especially for a government that prides itself in the rule of law.

He advised that government should ensure and encourage the practice of good corporate governance at all levels, saying that the Acts establishing the various agencies had provided for the composition of the board members.