By Habibat Aliu
In an effort to deepen micro pension awareness to contain the private sector from the growth of the Contribution Pension Scheme (CPS), the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and Pension Fund Operators of Nigeria (PenOP) have revealed plans to ascertain the government’s target of enrolling eight million Nigerians in the country.
The disclosure was made by the Director-General, PenCom, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar at a workshop organized for journalists by the commission in Lagos to give an insight to the new development of the industry, saying strategic efforts to drive the micro-pension plan remains one of the major focus of the commission.
The MPP, according to her, ‘’was conceptualised to expand pension coverage to the informal sector of the economy, including small scale businesses entertainers, professionals, petty-traders, artisans and entrepreneurs.
‘’The scheme was implemented to curb old-age poverty by supporting the workers to contribute while working and build long-term savings to fall back on when they become old.
To create awareness of the micro-pension plan, the commission in collaboration with the Pension Fund Operators 0f Nigeria(PenOp), is currently championing an industry campaign in major cities of the country’s six geopolitical zones.’’
Umar clarified that the theme of this year’s workshop, ‘’Increasing Informal Sector Participation in the Contributory Scheme (CPS), flows with the commission’s objective of expanding coverage of the CPS. The objective,’’ she maintained, ‘’is to bring into the CPS, Nigerians working in the informal sector and those who are self-employed through the micro-pension plan.
Therefore, she stated that it was of utmost importance to educate the media on the MPP and enlist its support to make the plan popular amongst informal workers and the self-employed. She used the opportunity of the occasion to reaffirm the commission’s commitment to creating awareness and holding social dialogue on the workings of the contributory pension scheme with the relevant stakeholders towards the smooth implementation of the contributory scheme in Nigeria.
On behalf of the commission and pension industry, the D-G expressed profound appreciation for consistent media support, reiterating that the media is an important stakeholder, without which achievements recorded by the pension industry would not have been possible.
It is relevant to state here that the workshop which has become an annual event provides the commission with a platform to interact with the media to discuss developments in the pension industry. It is also an opportunity to present the achievements of PenCom and the challenges faced in implementing the contributory pension scheme.
