SERAP asks Buhari to stop governors from borrowing N17trn from Pension funds

 

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to instruct the Director-General and Board of the National Pension Commission to use their statutory powers to prevent governors from borrowing N17 trillion from pension funds.

In a letter dated December 5, 2020, and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said that allowing the 36 state governors to borrow from pension funds would be detrimental to the beneficiaries of the funds.

The group said the proposed borrowing is unjust and contrary to the letter and spirit of the Pension Reform Act, adding that the governors’ proposition “would lead to serious losses of retirement savings of millions of Nigerians.”

The letter reads in part, “This proposed borrowing faces the risks of corruption and mismanagement, and would ultimately deny pensioners the right to an adequate standard of living and trap more pensioners in poverty. Rather than devising ways to address pensioner poverty, governments at all levels would seem to be pushing to exacerbate it.”

“Allowing the governors to borrow money from the pension funds would amount to a fundamental breach of constitutional provisions, the Pension Reform Act, and Nigeria’s international obligations, as well as fiduciary duties imposed by these legal instruments on all public officers to prevent pension funds from unduly risky investments, and to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of pension funds.

“We would be grateful if your government would indicate the measures being taken to instruct the NPC to stop the 36 state governors from borrowing and withdrawing any money from the pension funds within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.”

“If we have not heard from you by then as to the steps being taken in this direction, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to implement these recommendations in the interest of millions of Nigerian pensioners.”

The 36 state governors had recently resolved to borrow N17 trillion from the pension funds for ‘infrastructural development.’