Atiku Abubakar, the former vice-president, has kicked against the federal government’s plan to borrow Nigeria’s pension fund to finance infrastructure projects.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Abubakar said it is a misguided initiative that must be stopped immediately.
On May 14, Wale Edun, the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, said the government has unveiled a strategic plan to harness the N20 trillion pension fund and other locally available resources for infrastructure development in Nigeria.
Edun said it was a significant step towards driving economic progress and addressing critical infrastructure needs.
“My attention is drawn to a disturbing disclosure by the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun, as he addressed state house correspondents after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting at the presidential villa on Tuesday, May 14,” Abubakar said.
“There is, according to the minister, a move by the federal government to rev up economic growth by unlocking N20 trillion from the nation’s pension funds and other funds to finance critical infrastructure projects across the country.
“He provided no useful details, such as the percentage of the funds to be mopped up from the pension funds, for example.
“Even at that, this move must be halted immediately! It is a misguided initiative that could have disastrous consequences on the lives of Nigeria’s hardworking men and women who toiled and saved and who now survive on their pensions after retired from service. It is another attempt to perpetrate illegality by the federal government.”
Abubakar said the government must be cautioned to act strictly within the provisions of the Pension Reform Act of 2014 (PRA 2014), along with the revised Regulation on Investment of Pension Funds Assets issued by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
“In particular, the federal government must not act contrary to the provisions of the extant Regulation on investment limits, to which Pension Funds can invest no more than 5% of total’ assets in infrastructure investments,” Abubakar said
“I note that as of December 2023, total pension funds assets were approximately N18 trillion, of which 75% are investments in FGN Securities.
“There are NO free Pension Funds that is more than 5% of the total value of the nation’s pension fund for Edun to fiddle with.”
He said there are no easy ways to address the challenges of funding infrastructure development in Nigeria.
