The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has stormed the Labour House in Abuja following rising tension between the Commission and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the safety of pension funds.
The visit, which was not on PenCom’s official schedule, marked Oloworaran’s first direct engagement with the NLC since assuming office in July 2024.
Naija News understands that during the closed-door meeting, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, confronted the PenCom DG with what he called unanswered questions that Nigerian workers cannot ignore.
According to Vanguard, at the top of his concerns was the absence of a statutory PenCom Board, which Labour insists has left billions of naira in retirement savings vulnerable.
“The pension funds are not government money. They belong entirely to Nigerian workers and must be handled with the highest level of transparency. How can the Commission operate without its statutory Board, as the law demands? Workers have the right to know how their savings are being managed,” Ajaero charged.
He also accused Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) of negligence, saying many retirees had been left stranded.
“Every day, we get disturbing reports of retirees begging for their own money. PenCom must enforce compliance, sanction erring PFAs, and restore confidence. Workers’ sweat cannot be turned into misery at old age,” the NLC President thundered.
‘We Fell Short, No More Media Wars’ – Oloworaran
Responding to the criticisms, Oloworaran admitted that the commission had not done enough to engage Labour directly.
“I want to apologise to the Congress. We should never have allowed media exchanges to replace direct dialogue. That was a mistake. I am here to open a new chapter, no more media wars. PenCom will work hand in hand with Labour to ensure transparency and accountability,” she said.
The DG also unveiled plans to strengthen oversight and public accountability, including the introduction of a digital dashboard for pension monitoring, regular reporting to the NLC, and a framework for sustained engagement.
“We need to rebuild trust. I want to assure you that workers’ funds are safe and that together we will tighten oversight of PFAs,” she added.
At the end of the meeting, both sides agreed to maintain closer collaboration going forward. However, observers noted that the peace remains tenuous.
“Labour has thrown down the gauntlet,” Vanguard quoted a source at the meeting saying.
“If PenCom fails to follow through on these promises, the NLC is ready for a showdown.”
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