About N300million is looted
daily from the Police Pension funds, the Chairman of the Pension Reform Task
Force, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, has said . The
task force has already remitted N36billion of the recovered funds to the
Federation Account.
Maina
while on a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices
and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, said 120 properties
acquired with money stolen from the funds have also been seized.
The
commission’s Head of Media, Mr. Folu Olamiti, in a statement, said: “The Reform
Task Team said it had covered some grounds in the fight against Pension Funds
thieves. It disclosed that it was able to uncover a fraud to the tune of N36
billion within the Police Pension Funds Office, alone.
“It
said it had remitted the whole sum to the purse of the federation, while
seizing about 120 properties allegedly acquired with stolen pension funds by
the cabals.
Maina
said investigations by members of his team had revealed that the cabals in the
Police Pension Office were in the habit of stealing up to N300 million on a
daily basis through fictitious cheques prepared in the names of fake
pensioners.
“He
said investigations into the Police Pension Office were still ongoing,
disclosing that his team had covered 40 percent of investigations into the
pension funds scam.
“A
member of the Pension Task Team, who is also a former member of the House of
Representatives, Ngozika Ihuoma, told ICPC about similar fraud with Local
Government Pension Funds, disclosing that from 1976 till date, a total of N3.3
trillion had been deducted from the funds without proper accountability.”
The
breakthrough recorded by the Pension Task Team on recovery of stolen pension
funds is said to have started attracting the attention of the Presidency
following a formal invitation extended to the Chairman by the Economic
Management Team for special briefing.
Mr.Olamiti
said: “According to Maina, President Jonathan had personally invited the
Pension Task Team to brief the Economic Management Team on its achievements so
far, most especially the e-pension model the Team had developed to reduce
stealing of pension funds across the country.
“Maina
thanked President Goodluck Jonathan and the ICPC for the support both have been
throwing behind the Task Team, just as he appealed for further support from the
government of Nigeria on how to rid the pension departments in Nigeria of
fraudulent cabals.
“He
disclosed that he has continued to receive death threats from those he
suspected as Pension funds cabals, recalling the recent mail sent to him,
threatening to bomb the office of the Pension Reform Task Team.”
The
ICPC chairman, Nta, said the consistent pilfering of pension funds by officials
of government could cause a major national disaster.
According
to the statement, Nta said “since pensioners were in every home in the country,
the idea of denying them their rights and entitlements through stealing of
their pension could put pressure on the national economy.
“He
observed that the stealing of pension funds easily attracted irreversible
curses on perpetrators.
“He
assured the Pension Task Team of preparedness by ICPC to support the fight
against stealing of pension funds in Nigeria, promising to partner with the
National Television Authority (NTA) and the Africa Independent Television (AIT)
in a Special Forum on Pension Funds.”
Source: The Nation
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