The Federal Government has appointed Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje as the Chairman of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), following growing agitation from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the delayed constitution of the board of the regulator.
The development came after the NLC, at the end of its Central Working Committee meeting on August 13, issued a stern ultimatum demanding the immediate inauguration of PenCom’s Governing Board within seven working days. The union also insisted that the Commission provide a comprehensive status report on all pension funds within the same timeframe.
Confirming the appointment, credible officials within the NLC as well as top industry stakeholders revealed that the presidency had settled on Agbaje, a respected consultant and business strategist, to lead the pension regulator.
When contacted, the spokesman for PenCom, Mr. Ibrahim Buwal, however, noted that there had been “no official confirmation from the presidency yet as to Agbaje’s appointment.”
Section 19 of the Pension Reform Act 2014 makes it mandatory to establish a 16-member board for PenCom. The composition includes a chairman, director-general, and four full-time commissioners appointed by the President with Senate approval, while the remaining ten slots are allotted to key labour and employer organizations, including the NLC, TUC, NECA, and the Nigeria Union of Pensioners.
Agbaje, the new appointee, is the Chief Executive Officer of RTC Advisory Services Ltd, a renowned business and policy advisory firm. With professional stints in the banking sector, he holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Lagos and an MBA from the prestigious IESE Business School, Spain.
His past leadership roles include serving on the board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund for two terms between 2011 and 2019.
okay.ng reports that his appointment signals the government’s response to the growing concerns about transparency and accountability in pension fund management, which has been at the center of heated debates between organized labour and the authorities.
