The chairman of the institute’s Enugu State branch, Dr Onyeka Okoh, disclosed this in Enugu on Thursday during the PENCOM/National Employers Consultative Association interactive session on the Contributory Pension Scheme for the Organised Private Sector.
According to Okoh, only 10 million workers have enroled in the scheme, which he attributes to the inherent corruption in Nigeria.
Okoh explained that while the federal workers and multi-national companies in Nigeria are complying with the Pension Scheme Act of 2014, many others, especially the informal sector, are yet to comply.
He, however, attributed the low enrollment to corruption, adding that if Nigeria must get it right, “corruption must first be killed.”
Noting that the multinationals were able to comply because of the way they were structured to function well, he pointed out that privately owned companies in Nigeria hardly comply with the PenCom scheme.
Speaking, the chairman of the chairman of NECA, Uzochukwu Chime, while appraising the importance of PENCOM, said retirement before the scheme was a nightmare for workers.
He said, “Before, life after retirement could be described as uncertain and unpredictable. However, with the Pension Reform Act 2014, the narration has changed significantly.
“Primarily because no matter the efforts put into a system or process, there will always be room for improvement. Thus, following the enactment of the Act and with successive PenCom leadership, we have had a series of improvements and innovations in the administration of the pension scheme.
“For many of us who have been around for a while, you will agree with me that the circumstantial suspension of this interactive session few years ago created a gap and deprived not only the private sector but also PenCom the opportunity to get critical feedback with the potential to assist in improving the operationalization and administration of the Pension Scheme.”
He also pointed out that the priivate sector remains committed to the success of the pension scheme “as long as our concerns are not only noted but also addressed expeditiously.”
