PenCom won’t succumb to blackmail – DG

The Director-General, National Pension Commission, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, has kicked against any form of blackmail against the Commission, saying that it has nothing to hide.

This was according to a statement signed by PenCom Management and issued on Saturday.

According to the statement, Mrs Dahir-Umar noted that PenCom was aware of a coordinated plan to bring the Commission into disrepute with frivolous petitions to the anti-graft agencies with the help of disgruntled insiders.

She was quoted in the statement as saying, “These elements, some of whom are yet to come to terms with the fact that PenCom is no longer at their beck and call, have been sponsoring negative media reports and getting faceless groups to write frivolous petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“Although, some low-level media outfits are giving a voice to these defamatory petitions, those who know how we conduct our affairs at PenCom are not in any way bothered. Since I took over as the DG, we have undertaken far-reaching reforms within the organisation which are yielding positive results

“Those who think they can use the commission to make money or that they should be the ones calling the shots are bitterly disappointed and are sponsoring false publications and trumped-up petitions. We will co-operate fully with the agencies. Our message to the disgruntled elements today is exactly as it was yesterday: we will not allow anyone to pilfer pension funds for self-aggrandisement. It will never happen under my watch.”

She further noted that the blackmail had been ongoing since 2017, and the Commission had refused to surrender to it because it had nothing to hide.